U’khand HC freezes Rawat’s floor test

‘Why the hurry for President’s Rule?’

NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand high court ordered on Wednesday a stay on a floor test of the ousted Congress government but questioned the Centre’s haste in imposing President’s Rule, indicating the state’s political uncertainty will continue.

A two-judge division bench, comprising chief justice KM Joseph and justice VK Bist, asked the Centre why it clamped President’s Rule when the governor had set a date for the floor test.

The bench stayed a decision by a single-judge bench a day before that allowed deposed chief minister Harish Rawat to seek a trust vote on Thursday. The earlier order also allowed nine rebel Congress MLAs — who switched their support to the BJP — to vote. The Centre and the Congress agreed to file submissions to the court by Tuesday. The matter will be next heard on April 6.

“A floor test is the best test and correct arena,” the court told attorney general Mukul Rohatgi when he argued that the Centre should be given a chance to explain. Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, said the single-- judge bench had ended up staying President’s Rule by allowing the floor test though the judge hadn’t spelt out his stand explicitly. India’s top legal officer also questioned the disqualification of nine rebel Congress legislators by speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal’s after President’s Rule was imposed.