Uttarakhand CM faces political crisis

After Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, another Congress government faces political danger. Chief Minister Harish Rawat of Uttarakhand on Friday night faced a rebellion from nine of the 36 ruling party legislators in the 70-member state assembly, seeking his dismissal.

GASPING FOR AIR

• Congress had governments in eight states in 2014 but now, the number might come down to five
• In Arunachal, the Congress' Nabam Tuki was dethroned recently and Kalikho Pul, backed by  the BJP, became  chief minister
• Congress-led govt in Manipur is also facing existential danger
• Uttarakhand govt is facing a serious threat because of the stance of former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna who is said to be in touch with the BJP

As soon as Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal called for the budgetary motion in the 70-member House, former CM Vijay Bahuguna, a known opponent of Rawat, along with eight others demanded division (counting) of votes. The Speaker rejected the demand and adjourned the House till March 28.

Right after, the nine Congress members joined the 28 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members in demanding dismissal of the Rawat government, saying he'd lost the majority. They also sat on a dharna in the well of the House.

Later, state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt, along with Bahuguna, told reporters they'd meet Governor K K Paul to demand dismissal of the government.

“We are nine MLAs of the Congress who are not supporting Chief Minister Harish Rawat any more,” said Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat.