 "Harish Rawat")
The chances of the Congress, the ruling party in Uttarakhand, to prove its majority in the Assembly on Monday now depend on whether Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal will expel all the nine party rebels ahead of the floor test.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, is of the view that the Speaker cannot disqualify the rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law.
"The law is very clear in this regard. The Speaker can disqualify a member under the anti-defection law only on two grounds. One, defying party whip in the House and two, defecting to another party. None of these applies to the nine rebel MLAs who have neither violated the whip nor defected to any other group or party," said a state BJP leader.
Most BJP leaders in the state want the Rawat government to be dismissed immediately. However, they are not sure if the central government will recommend the President's rule in the state on the basis of a report sent by Governor K K Paul to President Pranab Mukherjee. The report contained a CD on the happenings inside the Vidhan Sabha.
"The Governor's report is enough to seal the fate of the Harish Rawat government," said Ajay Bhatt, state BJP president.
"We want the dismissal of this government in Uttarakhand," said Pushkar Singh Dhami, a BJP MLA from Khatima.
To put more pressure on the Congress, the BJP has also claimed to have the support of five MLAs belonging to the Progressive Democratic Front, comprising mostly independent legislators.
Meanwhile, state Congress chief Kishore Upadhayay says that the Rawat government would pass the floor test on Monday.
