Harish Rawat has been told to take a trust vote on April 29th.
Highlights
- Harish Rawat reinstated as Uttarakhand Chief Minister yesterday
- But Supreme Court has suspended that decision
- Top court deciding if President's Rule was correct decision by Centre
Hours after Harish Rawat of the Congress was ordered to get back to work as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, he was told to stay at home.
Yesterday, the Uttarakhand High Court reinstated him as Chief Minister and said his government had been wrongly removed last month by the Centre in a blatant misuse of its powers. Today, the Supreme Court set that verdict aside, and placed the hill state once again under President's Rule until its next hearing on Wednesday.
This morning, before the top court's instructions, a buoyant Mr Rawat announced that his cabinet had met and cleared 11 big new decisions in 18 hours. But because of the Supreme Court's order, the decisions cannot be implemented. "Now I have learnt a lesson, Modiji wants me to work even faster," Mr Rawat said witheringly.
Mr Rawat and his party, the Congress, have accused the BJP of maxing out its political clout at the Centre to dislodge an opposition government - the Uttarakhand judges concurred, stating that there was no requirement for President's Rule, which means the Centre takes charge of administration through Governor KK Paul.
In the Supreme Court, the Centre has justified President's Rule, claiming that Mr Rawat was heading a minority government. This, it has said, is proven by the fact that nine Congress legislators voted against the budget presented last month by the Chief Minister. The BJP says the budget was wrongly cleared, when, in fact, the majority of votes were cast against it. Mr Rawat and his party disagree; he has been told to take a trust vote on the 29th (next Friday).