Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday once again pulled up the central government for attempting to ‘take away the power of an elected government’ in the state.
It rapped Modi government for “introducing chaos” and questioned the Centre if it was going to look with a “magnifying lens” for an “opportunity” in state assemblies to “impose” President’s rule.
The bench of Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice V K Bist asked the Union government why it was “concerned” about the disqualification of nine Congress MLAs.
According to Indian Express report, it was irrelevant for the Centre to take the disqualification of nine Congress MLAs as a reason for it to impose President’s rule in the state.
“… you are taking away the power of an elected government… you are introducing chaos. How can be it be a concern of the central government? …the defection of the Congress MLAs. You cannot take a political line. This must be clear,” the judges said after Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi argued that there can be a floor test after President’s rule which is a “temporary freeze” since it gets over in two months.
The bench continued, “What the Speaker would do on March 27 could not have been divined by the Cabinet on March 26. Assuming that they did divine, it was entirely irrelevant, for the central government to take that decision (to impose President’s rule) because then it would mean that the central government would be accused to be involved in politics.…whether it is Congress or BJP, it is immaterial for us.”
The court wondered if the Centre was “watching with a magnifying lens, where there is an opportunity for imposing President’s rule.”
This came a day after the same bench had pulled up the Modi government for interfering in state affairs.
The court is hearing a petition challenging the Centre’s decision to dismiss an elected government without even allowing it to prove majority in the assembly.
This criticism assumed huge significance in light of how the Centre had dismissed another non-BJP ruled government in Arunachal Pradesh.
Delhi government of Aam Aadmi Party too has been accusing the Modi government of attempting to destabilise the elected government to avenge the defeat in elections last year.