Draw the right lessons

Apropos the editorial, “After President’s rule” (May 12), although Harish Rawat has regained the chief minister’s post in Uttarakhand following the revocation of President’s rule by the Supreme Court, the complexities of the issue remain.

The editorial, too, expresses doubts whether the people of the state will forget the deplorable manner in which the political crisis was allowed to erupt at all and the questionable methods used by leaders in the state as well as at the Centre. The Supreme Court was peeved at the indiscreet way in which President’s rule was imposed in Uttarakhand by the Centre.

The Congress Legislative Party in Uttarakhand must take full responsibility for the political mess in the state Assembly, when the Speaker “dutifully” obliged Chief Minister Rawat by ensuring the passing of the state Budget, the failure of which might have caused his government to fall. The Speaker chose to ignore the dissidents’ demand for a division of votes on the Budget and instead went for a voice vote, before declaring the Budget passed in the din that followed.

The Speaker also disqualified nine Congress dissidents, an action later approved by the High Court and the Supreme Court. What happened in the post-President’s Rule situation became a matter of discussion, debate and even legal interpretation by the Supreme Court.

There is a growing feeling that those who were behind this political melodrama have been declared the “winners”.

The on-the-spot role of the Speaker of the state Assembly escaped proper judicial scrutiny, as the Supreme Court seemed to focus on the constitutional validity of imposing President’s Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution.

I agree with the editorial as it hopes that the right lessons would be drawn by everybody so that the norms of democracy and governance are followed not only in letter but also in spirit.

S Kumar New Delhi