Harish Rawat Back as Uttarakhand CM, Centre Revokes President's Rule

In a major embarrassment for the Narendra Modi government, the Centre had to revoke President's Rule in Uttarakhand after Congress leader Harish Rawat won the floor test held in the state Assembly on Tuesday.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that Harish Rawat-led Congress had won the vote of confidence in Uttarakhand and hence the Central Government had decided to revoke President's Rule that was imposed on March 27.

The Attorney General said, "There is no doubt that Harish Rawat has proved majority. My instructions are that the Centre will revoke the President's Rule." The development paves the way for Harish Rawat to return as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

The apex court observed that Rawat can assume the charge as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand while asking Rohatgi to place the order of revocation of President's Rule before the bench.

The Congress won the trust vote clinching 33 votes while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could manage only 28 in the 71-member Assembly whose effective strength was reduced to 62 after the Supreme Court barred nine Congress MLAs from taking part in the motion of confidence.

The Assembly's strength came down further to 61 as Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal could have cast his vote only in case of a tie.

Reacting to the development, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, terming the President's rule in Uttarakhand as murder of democracy. He tweeted, "They did their worst. We did our best. Democracy won in Uttarakhand!"

After the floor test on Tuesday, Rawat had refused to reveal the results but he and other Congress leaders flashed victory sign as they walked out of the Assembly.

Rawat had also thanked the Supreme Court for ordering a floor test in the Assembly.