Uttrakhand episode

Anil Anand
Uttrakhand a tine state nestled in lofty Himalayas is not a politically important state by any stretch of imagination. The only political significance of the barely a decade and a half old state carved out of Uttar Pradesh has been the political turmoil that it has been facing ever since its creation.
Seven chief ministers in 15 years! That is the underlying story. With the exception of the old warhorse Narain Dutt Tiwari none other completed his term as the chief minister.
The current political turmoil which began with sudden imposition of President’s rule followed by its revocation through the channels of Supreme Court and restoration of the Congress government led by Harish Rawat is the ultimate jarring note in the history of the state. All this happened barely six months or so before the state was due to face Assembly elections. Under the circumstances the ‘Dev Bhoomi’ witnessed the worst political machinations ever which did not gel with the divinity of the land. Nine Congress rebels egged on by the BJP’s desire to repeat the Arunachal Pradesh act to seize power through back door brought the political catastrophe.
True, politics is an art of the possible. But its worst manifestation with all negative connotations was seen in Uttrakhand during the last one month. The BJP keen to expand its political base and Congress to protect its turf engaged in a no-holds-bar battle for one-up-manship. In the process Constitutional provisions were trampled and the political morality was given a go by.
The one man who stood between the BJP’s diabolical plans to dethrone a government without testing its strength on ground and install its own dispensation was Harish Rawat. Not only did his stand his ground but managed to keep his flock together amidst allurements of all kinds. Precisely, on account of his clean image he managed to thwart all attempts, including the two sting operations, at sullying his image.
So, under the circumstances the need to invoke the spirit of famous S R Bommai case judgement pronounced by the Supreme Court in 1994 in a case related to Article 356 of the Constitution on imposition of President’s Rule in a state. The judgement covered the entire gamut of issues that cropped up due to imposition of President’s Rule in Karnataka to dispose of Bommai’s duly elected government, and this ultimately became the protective gear against any such misadventures.
Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi’s peremptory submission before the Supreme Court bench, even before it could ascertain the results of the floor test which was given to it in a sealed cover that Harish Rawat government had won the vote of confidence and the Centre’s intention to revoke President’s Rule summed up the story though not in its entirety. In many ways the AG’s submission was an admission of the fact that the President’s Rule had been imposed erroneously. This vital question will be addressed by the Apex Court when it conducts further hearings into many other aspects of this case.
The Uttrakhand episode in its current form is admix of political and Constitutional improprieties and has the potential of covering new grounds and laying parameters afresh on both the fronts to ensure morality. Given the alacrity with which the Apex Court and the Nainital High Court acted in this matter there is no doubt that an extension or fine-tuning of the Bommai judgement to plug new loopholes is round the corner.
On the face of it Uttrakhand with 70-member Assembly and only five Lok Sabha seats never had any significance in the electoral arithmetic of the political parties. But the current developments juxtaposed with the present political scenario in the country, have attached a new political importance to the hilly state.
On the Constitutional front Uttrakhand has the potential to become a platform for carrying forward the spirit of the Bommai judgement to a new horizon. And on the political front the restoration of the Congress government headed by Rawat has the potential to become a turning point in the country’s politics which is witnessing a battle between the expansionist tendencies of the BJP and the Congress fighting to save its boundaries.
Firstly, talking about the challenges which this episode has thrown before the judiciary in the face of new dimensions of impropriety that imposition of Article 356 and related developments have thrown up. Never ever the President’s Rule imposed to thwart the floor test as was done in this case. And never ever a situation had arisen in the past when under such situations Governor, Chief Minister and the Speaker Assembly concurred on the need for a floor test.
Apart from a thorough judicial review of the President’s role in such situations, the Apex Court will have to redefine the roles of the Governors and Speakers under such circumstances. The debate on their role was triggered particularly by the BJP questioning the decisions of the Speaker in declaring the Financial Appropriation Bill (Budget) passed in the din and subsequently that of the Governor to have set a time frame for Rawat to prove his majority in the House.
Prima facie the Apex Court had with immediate effect invoked the spirit of the Bommai judgement to protect the sanctity of the principle of floor test as means to test strength of the government. It was imperative to clear the air whether the incumbent chief minister enjoyed the majority or not and the rest would follow.
Uttrakhand has suddenly acquired a new potential to be politically significant if not in terms of arithmetic but strongly by way of triggering a political storm in rest of the country. The otherwise dormant Congress, which is smarting under intense pressure and severe criticism unleashed by Narendra Modi Government and the BJP, has got a new lease of life. The restoration of Rawat government backed by strong strictures by the judiciary, has enthused the Congress rank and file.
There is no doubt that the Uttrakhand episode has established him as the unchallenged Congress leader in the state. It has resulted in not only Rawat strengthening his hold in the party with all main rivals themselves discovering an exit route but he has also won people’s confidence under adverse circumstances.
With Assembly elections seeming to be in sight the Congress would have no option but to declare Rawat as the chief ministerial candidate if it were to retain power. The party high command has many lessons to learn from this situation particularly when Congress is striving hard to remain relevant on the national scene.
The images of Rawat and former chief minister turned rebel Vijay Bahuguna portray two diverse models of politics. It is for Mrs Sonia Gandhi and her strategists to take a final call on which model they prefer.
Finally, even the BJP leaders have a lot to take home from this situation. The only silverlining so far was the expression of remorse by the BJP-led NDA Government through its Attorney General in the form of agreeing to revoke President’s Rule even before the Court could say anything.
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