HC orders floor test in Uttarakhand on March 31, Centre to challenge order

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The High Court said the results of the floor test should not be declared in the Assembly but should be presented before it in a sealed envelope.

Dehradun: Even as President's rule has been imposed in Uttarakhand, the Nainital High Court on Tuesday ordered a floor test in the Assembly to determine which party enjoys a majority. The High Court said the results of the floor test should not be declared in the Assembly and instead, should be presented before it in a sealed envelope.

Sources, however said the Centre will challenge the HC order on the floor test.

While passing the order, the court allowed the nine Congress MLAs who were disqualified by Uttarakhand Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal on Sunday to take part in the floor test which will be held on March 31. It appointed the registrar of the court to be an observer for the floor test.

Congress party's lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the court order states that while the nine disqualified MLAs can vote but it will be kept separately. "The votes of the disqualified MLAs will be counted only as per the outcome," he said.

However, the court allowed President's rule in the state to continue.

With less than 24 hours before the crucial trust vote in the Uttarakhand Assembly where Chief Minister Harish Rawat was to prove majority support for his government, the Centre, in a dramatic move, dismissed the Congress government and imposed President's rule citing breakdown of governance on March 27.

Not amused by the step, Chief Minister Harish Rawat termed it as the murder of democracy.

Hitting out at the BJP leadership, Rawat had said, “Modi and Amit Shah wanted to topple my government at all costs. They wanted to remove Harish Rawat from the scene for which they went to the extent of murdering democracy. They even murdered the sentiments of the people of Uttarakhand.

A political crisis in Uttarakhand was precipitated when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against the Rawat-led government and rallied with the BJP. But the decision to impose President's rule took shape on Saturday night in a central government Cabinet meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Sunday afternoon, a formal nod to the decision was given by President Pranab Mukherjee.