New Delhi/Dehradun: A day after ousted Chief Minister Harish Rawat won the trust vote, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday revoked President’s Rule in Uttarakhand to pave way for the Congress government to return in the state.
The Cabinet decision came after the BJP-led central government told the Supreme Court that Rawat got 33 votes while 28 legislators voted against him in the Tuesday floor test supervised by the apex court.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh that there was “no doubt” that Rawat had the legislative strength to head the state government.
“It is clear (Rawat) has proved the majority,” Rohatgi said.
The court asked the Central government “to revoke forthwith the order of proclamation of President’s Rule” to let Rawat return as the chief minister.
Rawat’s victory, which was already known but officially announced on Wednesday, sparked jubilation in the Congress camp in Dehradun as well as in Delhi.
In Delhi, the Congress said it was the “victory of democracy”. “Hope Modiji learns his lesson. People of this country and the institutions built by our founding fathers will not tolerate the murder of democracy,” Congress ( vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted. But Rawat, 69, said he had no acrimony with the BJP government and needed its support for the state’s progress.
“It has been a tense period, a period of uncertainty and the state suffered losses. But all is well that ends well,” an elated Rawat told a crowded news conference in Dehradun. Congress workers in Dehradun broke into festivities. They danced and sang, distributed and ate sweets, hugged each other and burst firecrackers near Rajiv Bhavan, the party headquarters in the heart of Dehradun.
A peeved Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed the Congress’ jubilation would be “shortlived”.
“This majority is just for show. It will be a short-term glory. They have already lost the confidence of the people of Uttarakhand. The Congress majority in the assembly was a result of purchase and sale of elected members,” BJP leader Shrikant Sharma said outside Parliament. (IANS)
