Escalating the ongoing Uttarakhand crisis, Chief Minister Harish Rawat is likely to sack Harak Singh Rawat’s close aides, say sources.
Harak Rawat has requested the government to call Assembly tomorrow.
Uttarakhand Governor had on Sunday written to Chief Minister Harish Rawat to prove majority in the Assembly before March 28. The Congress government in the state is under threat with 9 MLAs rebelling against Rawat and the BJP, which has 27 MLAs, staking claim to form the government.
The 9 rebel MLAs include former chief minister Vijay Bahugana and cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat, who was expelled from the cabinet on Saturday evening. “Harak Singh’s conduct is against the party,” Rawat told reporters on Saturday evening after a Cabinet meeting.
The political crisis in Uttarakhand escalated on Saturday with BJP, claiming the support of rebel Congress MLAs, stepping up efforts to dislodge Chief Minister Harish Rawat who asserted that he was ready to prove his majority in the Assembly.
CM Rawat has, however, maintained that he still has the majority and will prove it in the Assembly if needed. “They (rebel MLAs) should have spoken to the Speaker or the Governor separately. We are giving time to the rebel MLAs to accept their mistake and apologise for their actions. 4-5 rebel MLAs are in touch with us now. I am giving a chance to the rebel MLAs to accept their mistake,” Rawat said.
On a day of claims and counter-claims by BJP and the Congress, Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said the “anti-defection law is in place and whoever is found guilty of violating it will have to be acted against”.
“All Congress MLAs voted with the government when the previous bill was passed in the Assembly and nobody had challenged the bill. Even the BJP accepts the voice vote,” he said.
Asked about BJP’s no-confidence notice against him, Kunjwal said, “We will see when it comes in the Assembly.”
In the 70-member Uttarakhand Assembly, Rawat has a thin majority. While the Congress has 36 MLAs, the BJP has 28. The Congress government is heavily dependent on independent MLAs for stability of its government.