Monday, The Uttarakhand High Court and the Supreme Court, refused any aid to the nine banned Congress MLAs of Uttarakhand, raising hopes in the Congress that the statistics in the apex court-monitored floor test on Tuesday will roll in favour of deposed Chief Minister Harish Rawat and spot the end of President’s rule in the State.
The vote of assurance will now involve 27 Congress MLAs, 28 BJP MLAs, six PDF members and one designated member. The total members to vote being 62, where Mr. Rawat will require 32 votes to be back as the Chief Minister.
The nine MLAs, who were prohibited by the Speaker under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution over allegations of ‘horse-trading’, reached the Supreme Court for an interim stay soon after Justice U.C. Dhyani of the High Court refused them any relief. The judge had advised them to “approach Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal and file a review application.”
A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh in the Supreme Court widely heard senior advocate C.A. Sundaram plead that since the apex court had lifted for two hours President’s rule for the duration of the floor test, it could very well permit the nine to go into the House and direct their votes.