HC orders floor test in Uttarakhand row
SECRET BALLOT Disqualified MLAs get to vote; stunned Centre will send attorney general to challenge ruling today
NAINITAL/NEW DELHI: The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday asked the deposed Harish Rawat government to seek a trust vote on March 31, in an unusual order that added to the political flux in the state.
While the rebellion- hit Congress welcomed the verdict and its ousted chief minister, Rawat, expressed confidence that he has the numbers to prove majority, the BJP termed the decision “unprecedented”.
President’s Rule was imposed in the hill state on Sunday following days of political upheaval after nine dissident Congress lawmakers threatened to take power by joining hands with the BJP.
The Centre will challenge the high court’s decision. “On Wednesday, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi will go to the Nainital court to oppose the order on floor test. Never ever such a ruling has come on a President’s Rule,” parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu told HT.
Justice UC Dhyani ordered that a registrar of the high court will monitor the House proceedings as observer.
The decision came on a day the Supreme Court agreed to hear next week a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the imposition of President’s Rule and demanding a CBI probe into allegations of horse-trading.
The Speaker will submit the trust vote results in a sealed cover to the court by Friday morning.
But there is no clarity on how the court ordered the floor test even as the 71-member assembly remains suspended.
“The high court has not stayed President’s Rule in the state,” additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta told HT.