Rawat welcomes Uttarakhand High Court decision

Ousted Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday welcomed the state high court decision to give his government a chance to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly.

"It is a war of principles with central government. It is a victory for us," Rawat told reporters after the Uttarakhand High Court ordered a floor test in the assembly on Thursday.

"Our fight is to protect the state assembly, democracy and the constitution. We are not fighting against any one person."

"This will stop the attempts to destabilise state assemblies where opposition parties are in power," Rawat said.

A day before Rawat was to prove his majority in the house, the Congress government in the hill state was dismissed on Sunday, following a recommendation of the union cabinet and the state was placed under President's Rule.

Hearing a petition by Rawat, the high court also said that all nine Congress rebel members who were disqualified by the speaker will be allowed to take part in the vote.

It said the result of the voting should be presented to the court on Friday and ordered a court registrar to oversee the vote in the assembly.