The two-month long political uncertainty in Uttarakhand has ended, with the revocation of President's rule in the state soon after the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Harish Rawat of the Congress had proved his majority in the Assembly in the trust vote that was conducted a day earlier. In his response to the day's developments, Mr Rawat said that the Supreme Court's decision had restored the faith of the people in democracy in Uttarakhand. It is, however, doubtful if the people will easily forget the deplorable manner in which the political crisis was allowed to surface in the first place and the various questionable methods used by leaders in the hill state as well as at the Centre that only fuelled the crisis - which had to be resolved eventually through the intervention of the apex court of the land.
The seeds of the crisis were sown when dissidents within the Congress legislative party in Uttarakhand made it obvious that they would challenge the passing of the state budget. The strength of the dissidents was such that their opposition could have led to the defeat of the budget, a money bill, and eventually the government would have fallen. The dissidents even asked for a division of votes on the budget, but the Speaker ignored such demands for inexplicable reasons, and went instead for a voice vote - before declaring the budget passed in the din that followed. To make matters more complicated, there were also allegations that Mr Rawat had unsuccessfully tried to bring round the dissident members of his party through monetary inducements, a charge he has denied. Even as the Speaker of the Assembly disqualified the nine dissident members of the Congress and Mr Rawat planned to seek a vote of confidence in his government, the Centre lost no time in declaring President's rule in Uttarakhand, acting as it did on the basis of the Governor's report pointing to a constitutional breakdown in the state. The Governor had already declined to give his assent to the budget in view of the manner in which the Speaker had rushed with its passage through a voice vote in spite of a demand for division.
It was an unfortunate spectacle when the Congress moved the high court, which found merit in the plea for the state government to seek a trial of strength of the floor of the Assembly. The Centre moved the Supreme Court in appeal and the apex court ordered a trial of strength after disallowing the nine dissidents from taking part in the trust vote. Mr Rawat's government in Uttarakhand has now been restored, after a gap of a few days when the state came under President's rule. But the conduct and decisions of the state chief minister, the Speaker, the Governor and even perhaps the President have come under close scrutiny in the wake of the last few weeks' developments. Hopefully, the right lessons will be drawn by everybody so that the norms of democracy and governance are followed not only in the letter but also in their spirit.
