Congress to challenge President's rule in Uttarakhand

Upset over imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand, which had sent the political temperature in the state soaring, the Congress party on Sunday said that they would challenge the imposition of President's rule in the court.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy against Congress ruled states and hinted that the saffron party's next target could be Manipur.

"We'll challenge President's rule in court and will tell that this is all malafide. The Central government and BJP are hatching conspiracies to topple Congress governments in the states. It is their policy. Those who take oath by the Constitution and violated the same Constitution. Their policy is Congress free India, so they are working on that and toppling governments," Sibal told ANI.

"First they did it in Arunachal Pradesh, then in Uttarakhand, and I have information that they would do it in Manipur next," he added.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Harish Rawat, when asked whether they would exercise legal option in this matter, said, "We will go to court."

Rawat had earlier cried foul over the likelihood of imposition of President's rule, saying that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has been targeting his government ever since it came to power.

After almost seven days of verbal battle between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the political crisis in Uttarakhand, President's rule was imposed in the hill state on Sunday.

The Uttarakhand Assembly has been kept in suspended animation following President's rule in the state.

The recommendation for central rule was made by the Union Cabinet at its emergency meeting last night, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress had dubbed the cabinet meeting as the last phase of the drama scripted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).