NEW DELHI: After days of political uproar in Uttarakhand, President’s Rule was imposed in the hilly State on Sunday.
The Cabinet had recommended the imposition of Central rule in the State on Saturday night, following an hour-long emergency meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Sunday morning, it received the formal nod from President Pranab Mukherjee signing the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution.
As Congress cried “murder of democracy,” after losing power in the second State after Arunachal Pradesh, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley countered by accusing the State government of “murdering” provisions of Constitution every day, for the last nine days.
The Government justified the imposition of President’s Rule saying that the Harish Rawat government was “unconstitutional” and “immoral” since March 18, when the “failed” Appropriation Bill was shown as passed.
Speaking to the media shortly after President’s Rule was imposed, he said there were “cogent, relevant and extremely important grounds” on which the Union Cabinet came to the decision.
“There is no better example than this for invoking Article 356 of the Constitution. For the last nine days, every day, provisions of Constitution has been murdered. It was not only appropriate but the demand of the time that such an immoral government did not continue in Uttarakhand which has lost its majority. There was complete breakdown of the Constitution in Uttarakhand,” he said.
Though, Harish Rawat claimed that he is yet to get the notification, he said there was “no parallel in history wherein a government is asked to prove majority on the next day and less than 24 hours, it is sacked”.
“Jurists, Parliament and courts, all have held that the strength of a government is proved on the floor of the Assembly,” he added.
Soon after the imposition of President’s rule in the State, nine rebel Congress MLAs including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna were disqualified from the State Assembly by Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal under the anti-defection law.
The nine MLAs had revolted against their own government headed by Harish Rawat on a day of high drama in the House on March 18.
While referring to March 18, Jaitley said in the 71-member Assembly, 67 members excluding the Speaker, were present out of whom 35 wanted Division of Votes on the Appropriation Bill.