Dehradun: Amid reports of BJP exploring possibilities of forming government in Uttarakhand, deposed chief minister Harish Rawat has urged Governor K K Paul to allow him to stake claim to do the same ahead of the saffron party if the President's rule ends in the hill state.
In a memorandum submitted to the Governor through former ministers Pritam Singh and Dinesh Aggarwal last night, Rawat has made a reference to media reports suggesting that BJP is exploring possibilities to form government in the state.
Expressing apprehension that the BJP-led government at the Centre may lift the President's Rule to "usurp power" in Uttarakhand, Rawat said as he has the required number, he should be invited first by the Governor to stake a claim and not BJP if the prospect of forming a government emerges.
"The media reports have created doubts in the mind of the undersigned (Rawat) that by lifting the President's Rule and offering BJP an opportunity to form government in Uttarakhand, the Centre may again commit a fraud on the Constitution," Rawat said in the memorandum.
Claiming that he was leader of the largest political party in the state Assembly, Rawat said inviting BJP to form government ahead of him will also tantamount to a "violation" of the Supreme Court's ruling in the S R Bommai versus Union of India case.
Rawat also reminded the Governor that a petition challenging imposition of the President's Rule was also currently being heard in the Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital.
As his government was dismissed just a day before he was scheduled to face a floor test in the Assembly, it was he who deserved the first chance to prove a majority in the House and form a government, the former chief minister said in the memorandum also signed by him.
"I want to say that I have the required majority and I must be given a chance to prove it in the Assembly. I am always ready and willing for this," he said in the memorandum, which also carried the signatures of former ministers Indira Haridayesh, Pritam Singh and Dinesh Agarwal besides of Congress MLA Mamata Rakesh.
Uttarakhand was plunged into a political crisis after nine Congress MLAs sided with BJP inside the Assembly over a demand for division of votes on the appropriation bill on March 18 eventually leading to imposition of President's Rule in the state on March 27.
