'Democracy slayer' NDA reprimanded aptly by Uttarakhand HC: Congress

The Congress party on Thursday said that the NDA government at the Centre should learn a lesson from the Uttarakhand High Court's verdict on ending president's rule in the state and restoring the Harish Rawat-led Congress regime. The former said that the latter should avoid behaving like a slayer of democracy.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told ANI, "The government has misused Article 356. This is the first time ever in the constitutional history of India that a High Court has struck down President's rule imposed by the Central Government on a state. This should be a lesson enough for the Central Government as it has been behaving like the slayer of democracy, the butcher of institution and the murderer of any thought which is contrary to what their idea of India is."

"Therefore after receiving this very severe reprimand from the Uttarakhand High Court, the Central Government would be well advised not to pursue with this adventure any further and let things be decided on the floor of the House as is constitutionally mandated," he added.

The Uttarakhand High Court yesterday struck down the declaration of President's rule in the state.

The High Court set aside the Centre's rule imposed last month, saying Article 356 was imposed in the state contrary to the law laid down by Supreme Court.

The High Court accused the Centre of acting in blatant falsehood and behaving like a private party.

The High Court asked Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat to prove his government's majority on the floor of the assembly on the April 29.