Uttarakhand crisis: Jaitley defends Prez Rule, calls Rawat govt unconstitutional

New Delhi: Even as Congress cried foul, Government Sunday justified imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand, saying the Harish Rawat government was "unconstitutional" and "immoral" since March 18 when the "failed" Appropriation Bill was shown as passed.

"There can be no better example of implementation of Article 356 (imposition of President's Rule)...There was complete breakdown of the Constitution in Uttarakhand," Union Minister for Finance and Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley told reporters.

Read: Uttarakhand Speaker serves notice to 9 rebel Congress MLAs

"There were very good grounds for the Union Cabinet to recommend President's Rule in the state... The Chief Minister had lost majority on 18th (of March) and his continuation was unconstitutional and immoral," he said, adding it was the demand of time that the government should have been dismissed.

While referring to March 18, he said in the 71-member Assembly, 67 members, excluding the Speaker, were present out of whom 35 wanted Division of Votes on the Appropriation Bill.

Read: Murder of democracy, Modi's hands dipped in 'blood': Harish Rawat

The Division of votes was sought in writing in advance by the 35 members who also voted against the Bill, despite which the Speaker showed the legislation as passed, Jaitley said.

"The Speaker said in writing that 'the Division was sought but I treat the bill as passed'... This is for the first time in the history of Independent India that a bill is shown as passed even when it has been defeated. That was the first violation of the Constitution," said Jaitley.

Also read: Murder of democracy, says Congress on President’s Rule in Uttarakhand

The Appropriation Bill empowers the government to draw funds for expenses from April one and if it is defeated on the floor of the House, the government has to resign.

Among other reasons cited for dismissing the Rawat government were attempts to "change the composition of the Assembly", "allurements" allegedly offered by the Chief Minister and long time given to him to prove his majority.

Read: PM Modi holds meet on Uttarakhand; President’s Rule an option

Jaitley said Governor K K Paul had also mentioned that he had "serious doubts" over what happened in the Assembly on March 18.

The Governor had repeated asked the Chief Minister to convene the Assembly in two-three days for floor test but he deliberately prolonged it by insisting that he would do so only on March 28, Jaitley said.

Read: Uttarakhand crisis: BJP threatening Congress with President's rule, says Harish Rawat

"He wanted to use the time period for allurement, horse-trading to change the composition of the House...During each of the nine days, provisions of the Constitution were violated," the Union Minister said.

Referring to the sting operation against Rawat, he said, "This is the first time that there is hard evidence about horse-trading by a Chief Minister who has been caught on camera."

Also read: Uttarakhand crisis: Centre mulls President's Rule

Responding to Rawat's allegations that BJP had destabilised his government by resorting to allurements, Jaitley questioned the credibility of the remarks of a person "who himself has been caught on camera offering positions and money".

Jaitley also accused the Speaker of using the Anti-Defection Law discriminately with regard to rebels of BJP and Congress and said he should not stay in office even for a day.

Read: BJP knew it would lose floor test in Uttarakhand: Omar Abdullah

With regard to Congress charge of destablising its governments, the union minister said it was a crisis created not by BJP but by Congress itself. "There was rebellion in Congress as the party high command had been refusing to even meet their leaders," he said.

Asked about the possibility of Congress hardening its stand in Parliament, particularly with regard to bills like GST, the Finance Minister said, "Congress needs to put its own House in order rather than take revenge on the country."

Meanwhile, with President's Rule being imposed in Uttarakhand, 27 BJP MLAs of the state, who were in Jaipur in the wake of a political crisis there, today left for Delhi.

The MLAs were in Jaipur since Wednesday following the crisis triggered by a rebellion in Congress.

"We have left Jaipur and are on our way to Delhi and will reach Uttarakhand tomorrow," BJP MLA Madan Kaushik said. "Now our party leadership will decide next move."

Another MLA Adesh Chauhan said, "It was a corrupt government and has gone now. BJP will now be able to form government."