Upbeat over the party’s victory in the Uttarakhand trust vote, the Congress on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding an “apology” from him for imposition of the President’s rule in the hill state.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is indisposed and has been advised bed rest for a few days, was the first to attack the PM after the Centre informed the Supreme Court that ousted Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat had the legislative majority and his government will be restored soon.
“They (BJP) did their worst. We did our best. Democracy won in Uttarakhand!” Gandhi tweeted.
“Hope Modiji learns his lesson. People of this country and the institutions built by our founding fathers will not tolerate the murder of democracy!” he said in another tweet.
The victory in Uttarakhand is seen as a “moral” victory for the Congress, which had a few months earlier lost Arunachal Pradesh due to rebellion within the organisation and is struggling to contain dissidence in other party-ruled states.
At the same time, it is an embarrassment for the NDA government that had dismissed the Congress government and invoked Article 356 after nine ruling party legislators sided with the BJP on the Appropriation Bill.
{{/usCountry}}At the same time, it is an embarrassment for the NDA government that had dismissed the Congress government and invoked Article 356 after nine ruling party legislators sided with the BJP on the Appropriation Bill.
{{/usCountry}}Rawat, 68, is now set to be reinstated as the Uttarakhand CM as he bagged 33 out of the 61 votes in the floor test on Tuesday. Nine Congress rebels could not vote as they had been disqualified by the Speaker.
“Prime Minister should apologise in Parliament and sack the minister who advised him to impose President’s Rule in Uttarakhand,” senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said at a party press briefing.
Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal also took to twitter to attack the Centre. “Modi Govt shud apologise to the nation for acting in unconstitutional and undemocratic manner in Uttarakhand,” he tweeted.
The CPM termed it a “big setback” to the “anti-constitutional conspiracy hatched by the BJP of trying to topple” the government in Uttarakhand.
“The BJP should learn that its resort to such methods at subterfuge to remove democratically elected state governments headed by opposition parties will not succeed,” it said.