BJP destabilising U'khand govt unconstitutionally:Cong to Prez

Congress tonight appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee to ensure upholding rule of law in Uttarkhand, saying the party's duly elected government was being "destabilised" through "unconstitutional means" by the Centre and the BJP.
"Any attempt by the Union government at the behest of the BJP to impose President's Rule would be ex facie illegal. Resort to Article 356 of the Constitution... Would be a mockery," a high level delegation of senior Congress leaders including A K Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad told the President.
The delegation also comprised Kapil Sibal, Ambika Soni and Motilal Vora.
The leaders said such a move would also allow the ruling dispensation at the Centre and the BJP "in tandem to manufacture a majority through horse trading".

"The Centre is misusing its power. They want to repeat their Arunachal Pradesh experiment in Uttarakhand. This is a new model of democracy and nationalism," Sibal said.
In a memorandum they also complained to the President that attempts are being made to persuade the Governor to advance the Session.

"The government is trying to persuade the Governor to advance the session to render proceedings under the Xth Schedule (anti-defection law) infructuous. This is also a Constitutional impropriety," they told the President.
They said that the Governor has advised the Chief Minister to prove his strength on the floor of the House on March 28.

"On March 28, the CM will prove on the floor that he has the requisite support of the majority of members of the Legislative Assembly," the memorandum said.
"The date for proving majority was set on March 28. Now, the BJP is trying to put pressure through the Centre and get the date advanced," Azad said.
Soni alleged that MLAs were being taken without their "will" and paraded before the Governor and raised doubts about the security of Congress legislators.
"The BJP, by using the Centre, is trying to dislodge the duly elected Congress governments," Azad added.
When asked whether the passage of the Money Bill in the Uttarakhand Assembly was valid, Sibal said, the decision on this was taken by the Speaker under his powers.

"The Speaker had already decided about the Finance Bill," he said.