Uttarakhand HC blasts Centre for chaos, Harish Rawat calls it setback for BJP

QUICK PILL

The observations

• A Division Bench of the Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital is hearing Harish Rawat on the ouster of his govt
• The Bench lashed out at the Centre for \'introducing chaos\' in the state, and questioned its hurry in imposing President\'s Rule

The statement

• Rawat said he wasn\'t going to predict the outcome of the case, since it was sub judice
• However, he did say the court\'s observations would teach the BJP not to meddle in non-BJP ruled states\' affairs

More in the story

• The fate of the disqualified MLAs - what happens next?
• Congress fires fresh salvo, with an eye on next year\'s Assembly polls

The trouble may not be over for ousted Chief Minister Harish Rawat, but the Uttarakhand High Court's observations have brought a semblance of a smile back on his face.

On Tuesday, while hearing the arguments on the petition filed by Rawat challenging the Centre's decision to invoke Article 356 in the hill state, the Division Bench of the High Court in Nainital lashed out at the Centre for "introducing chaos".

Read- Cong crisis: Uttarakhand & Arunachal are symptoms. Rot begins at the top

Questioning the role of the Centre, the Division Bench of Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice VK Bisht asked whether the Central government was looking through a magnifying glass for opportunities to impose President's Rule in other states as well.

The court went on to add that defection alone should not be the grounds on which the Centre can invoke Article 356, and said that if Presidents were to use Article 356 on the basis of corruption, then no state government would stay in power for more than five minutes.

Responding to the observations, Rawat said these should come as a setback for the BJP, which will have to think twice before attempting to bring down non-BJP governments in other states.

"I am a party in this case and, since the matter is sub judice, I am not in the position to comment on what would be the outcome of this case," he said.

"(But) one thing is for sure: that BJP is on the back foot. It may no longer continue to meddle in the affairs of non-BJP states. The fate of my government lies in the hands of the court, and we are hopeful that justice would prevail."

Justices rain on Centre

The Division Bench told Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi: "What the Speaker would do on 27 March could not have been divined by the Cabinet on 26 March. Assuming that they did divine, it was entirely irrelevant for the Central government to take that decision (to impose President's rule) because then it would mean that the Central government would be accused of being involved in politics."

Defending the Centre, Rohatgi argued that merely because the Governor had asked for a floor test, the President need not give a second chance. "When a money Bill fails, then there cannot be another chance. Therefore, the President was not bound to wait," he said.

The previous day, the Uttarakhand High Court had questioned the Centre's "tearing hurry" to invoke President's Rule, and said: "the root of the matter is you are cutting at the root of democracy."

Also read- #Uttarakhand: why Congress feels HC verdict has swung the battle its way

Justice Joseph also reprimanded the Centre for toppling a democratically-elected government in its last year of working and said: "Can you topple a democratically-elected government in its fifth year? It is the Governor who must call the shots. He is not an agent of the Central government, and a non-partisan person. What was the hurry to impose President's Rule? He had taken a call to ask for a floor test."

Questioning Rohatgi, the Bench said: "What is passing through our mind is that is it the lookout of the Central government as to what would have happened on 28 March (when floor test was to be held) in view of the changed composition and in view of the nine disqualified rebel MLAs? Will it not be totally extraneous for the Central government, which is ruled by another political party, to be concerned by the changed composition?"

Earlier, the Attorney-General had asked the court to adjourn the hearing but the bench said that it would not pass an order without hearing what the Centre has to say.

Rebels neither here nor there

On the issue of the disqualified MLAs, the court on Tuesday said these nine rebels will have to pay a price for defecting, and that the anti-defection law would come into play, which is bound to change the composition of the House.

The court asked, how did the Central government come to a conclusion that 35 MLAs would have voted against the government, before a floor test in the Assembly?

Read more: BJP & Cong meet President on U'khand crisis, both confident about numbers

Reports from Dehradun suggest that the BJP, too, has completely sidelined these rebels, who are now planning to float a new party.

Sources in the state BJP leadership claim that since the fate of these rebels is almost decided, the court will uphold the Speaker's decision on disqualification. "The public perception is not in favour of these rebels, and it would not be wise for the BJP to align with such elements, especially when elections are due in the next few months," said a BJP leader from Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, Rawat refused to make any comments on these rebels and their future plans, but did add that they are being called by several derogatory names, and that their fate was sealed the day they decided to join hands with the BJP.

Cong smells a rat

Meanwhile, the state Congress leadership expressed its faith in the judiciary, claiming that justice would be done to the Rawat government. But, at the same time, it is wary that the BJP will try its best to delay the order.

"If the court does pass an order in our favour, the BJP government would approach the Supreme Court, which will further delay the process," said Congress state in-charge Kishore Upadhyay.

Read- Uttarakhand trust vote: HC has crossed a line that even SC didn't

Training his guns at BJP president Amit Shah, Upadhyay said one can imagine what would happen if a person who had been banished from his home state on criminal charges is made the BJP president. "He, with support of the Prime Minister, can go to any extent to ensure that Harish Rawat never gets a chance to prove his majority on the floor of the house," he added.

Since the state budget has not been passed, Upadhyay fears for the worst, and claims the Centre can offer a financial package for the state to ensure that the electorate swings in the BJP's favour before the state goes to the polls.

"Our hopes depend on a speedy judgement by the judiciary, so that the government can finish its term and work towards the welfare of its people, which has hit a wall since these developments," he said.

Edited by Shreyas Sharma

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