There can be no better example of implementation of Article 356 (imposition of President’s Rule)…There was complete breakdown of the Constitution in Uttarakhand.
Union Minister for Finance |Arun Jaitley
New Delhi: Capping a nine-day high-voltage political drama, the Centre Sunday brought Uttarakhand under President’s rule citing a constitutional breakdown in the wake of a rebellion in the ruling Congress, which slammed the decision calling it a ‘‘murder of democracy’’ and a ‘‘black’’ day.
President Pranab Mukherjee signed the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution dismissing the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat and placing the Assembly under suspended animation Sunday morning on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
The Centre was of the view that continuance of the Rawat government was ‘‘immoral and unconstitutional’’ after March 18 when the Speaker declared the Appropriation Bill ‘passed’ in controversial circumstances without allowing a division pressed for by 35 MLAs, including nine rebel Congress legislators.
The Union Cabinet had held an emergency meeting here Saturday night presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had cut short a visit to Assam to return to New Delhi for the purpose.
The Cabinet considered several reports received from Governor K K Paul, who had described the situation as volatile and expressed apprehensions over possible pandemonium during the scheduled trial of strength in the state Assembly Monday.
The purported CD of the sting operation conducted against the Chief Minister that was in public domain Saturday was understood to have been factored into the decision of the Cabinet which found it as a case of horse trading.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is believed to have briefed the President late Saturday night explaining the rationale for the Cabinet’s recommendation.
The dismissal of the Rawat government now renders Monday’s confidence vote infructuous. It also came amidst reports that Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal had disqualified nine rebel Congress MLAs that would have enabled Rawat to sail through in the trust vote. PTI
Mishra adviser to Governor
New Delhi: Former director general of CRPF Prakash Mishra and former Union culture secretary Ravindra Singh were Sunday night appointed as advisers to the Governor of Uttarakhand, where President’s Rule has been imposed. Mishra, a 1977-batch Orissa cadre IPS officer, had retired as the chief of the world’s largest paramilitary force last month. Singh, a 1979-batch UP cadre IAS officer, had retired from service in April last year.
