Uttarakhand CM asked to prove majority in Assembly by Mar 28

Uttarakhand Governor Krishna Kant Paul today asked Chief Minister Harish Rawat to prove his majority on the floor of the state Assembly by March 28 as the political crisis escalated with BJP, claiming the support of rebel Congress MLAs, stepped up efforts to form its government. On his part, Rawat asserted that he was ready to prove his majority in the Assembly.

The Governor's directive is being seen as a breather to Rawat with as many as nine party MLAs raising a banner of revolt against his government and BJP claiming that his government had been reduced to a minority in the state Assembly.

While BJP claims the support of 35 MLAs including nine rebel Congress legislators, Rawat says he still enjoys a majority in the 70-member House as none of the so-called rebel MLAs has quit the party. He also said that five of the rebels were in touch with him. In New Delhi, union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a briefing that it the BJP cannot be held responsible if the Congress party cannot manage its government.

On a day of claims and counter-claims by BJP and the Congress, Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said the "anti-defection law is in place and whoever is found guilty of violating it will have to be acted against". "All Congress MLAs voted with the government when the previous bill was passed in the Assembly and nobody had challenged the bill. Even the BJP accepts the voice vote," he said.

Asked about BJP's no-confidence notice against him, Kunjwal said,"We will see when it comes in the Assembly. Members of the legislative Assembly will discuss and decide if the no-confidence notice is valid or not".

Congress accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah of destabilising state governments. "After Arunachal Pradesh, it is Uttarakhand," Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala Surjewala said.

In Dehradun, BJP intensified efforts to dislodge the Rawat government, claiming it has majority in Uttarakhand Assembly and should be invited to form the government as the incumbent Congress dispensation has been reduced to a minority. "The Harish Rawat government has lost majority. Today BJP has the numbers with the support of rebel Congress MLAs to form a new government in Uttarakhand," Shyam Jaju, the state in-charge of BJP, told PTI.