 "Harish Rawat")
The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the decks for Uttarakhand's ousted chief minister Harish Rawat to prove a majority in the state Assembly on Tuesday, but nine disqualified rebel Congress legislators won't be allowed to vote.
In an unprecedented move, the Court said President's Rule in Uttarakhand will be held in abeyance for two hours from 11 am to 1 pm while a floor test takes place in the Assembly. The proceedings of the House will be videographed.
The order came after the Centre informed the court that it was ready for a floor test only if it was done under the Supreme Court's supervision. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the government, said: "We will go along with the floor test as suggested by the (apex) court."
The Court directed the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Uttarakhand to ensure all qualified members are able to attend the Assembly on Tuesday and no hindrance is caused to anyone.
Voting will be by show of hands and will be counted by the Principal Secretary of the Assembly. The results of the floor test are to be placed before the Court in a sealed envelope, along with the records of the proceedings.
On the modalities, Rohatgi cited the past precedents of Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh where floor tests had taken place on intervention of the Court and opined there should be an observer, preferably any of the former chief election commissioners.
In February 1998, both incumbent Chief Minister Kalyan Singh (BJP) and Jagdambika Pal (Loktantrik Congress) claimed they had a majority in Uttar Pradesh assembly. Governor Romesh Bhandari invited Pal to form the government. On that occasion, the Court monitored a floor test where ballot boxes were placed on the table of the Assembly and each MLA dropped his vote in the ballot box, opened in front of a court-appointed officer.
In 2005, the Court ordered a floor test along the same lines in Jharkhand when a dispute arose between incumbent BJP Chief Minister Arjun Munda and opponent Shibu Soren. On that occasion too, the Court ordered video recording of the proceedings.
Rohatgi said: "There should be one agenda (for the short session in the Assembly). It should only be a composite floor test of strength between the two political alliances in the Assembly to ascertain which of the two alliances had majority of the House."
The court, however, made it clear that only Rawat would seek the vote of confidence.
Constitutional experts say disqualification of the nine MLAs, as ordered by the Speaker, should have been put aside by the Court if the question was whether Rawat has a majority or not.
In the new scenario, the effective strength of the 70-member House has been reduced to 61. This means, Rawat requires the support of 31 MLAs to pass the floor test. Political observers say Rawat should not have any problem in winning the trust vote on Tuesday. However, two MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are keeping their cards close to the chest, saying they will vote as per the directions of BSP chief Mayawati. Tebel Congress MLAs are anxiously waiting for the decision of the high court, which will hear the matter related to their disqualification on Saturday. Senior counsel C A Sundaram, appearing for the nine disqualified rebel Congress MLAs, urged the apex court to allow them to participate in the voting but the court was not moved. A couple of other rebels said the high court's decision on the disqualification can change the equation altogether.
Rawat, on the other hand, looked elated and said the Supreme Court's order was a victory of democracy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "bid to suppress the power of the Vidhan Sabha".
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Once the Supreme Court has given a decisive verdict and ordered a floor test on May 10, the cloud of uncertainty has cleared. The Modi government should see the writing on the wall. The message is loud and clear."
BJP sources, however, said the party was confident that Rawat-led Congress will be unable to prove majority on May 10. They indicated that there was a possibility of more Congress legislators breaking away and voting against Rawat. "Four days is a long time in politics," said a senior BJP strategist.
Uttarakhand has been under President's Rule since March 27 after the central government dismissed the Congress government, led by Rawat, citing a constitutional crisis in the hill state.
