9 Uttarakhand rebel Congress MLAs disqualified by Speaker

The Union Cabinet met here on Saturday to consider the situation in Uttarakhand amidst speculation that it may consider the option of President’s Rule in the state even as TV channels reported late night that Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal had disqualified the nine rebel Congress MLAs. With the MLAs being disqualified, they cease to be members of the state Assembly, reducing its effective strength from 70 to 61, which may make its easier for chief minister Harish Rawat to scrape through Monday’s floor test with 27 MLAs of the Congress and six of ruling ally Progressive Democratic Front.

The Union Cabinet met soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from Assam. Ahead of the meeting, a BJP delegation met President Pranab Mukherjee and demanded President’s Rule in the state, saying chief minister Rawat has no right to continue after a sting operation purportedly showed him bargaining with rebel party MLAs to win their support ahead of floor test on March 28.

The rebel Congress MLAs on Saturday alleged they were offered bribe by the CM for support during the floor test and released a video of a “sting” operation purportedly showing the CM, who called it “fake”.

The Congress alleged the “dirty tricks department” of BJP president Amit Shah is at work, while the saffron outfit demanded “immediate dismissal” of the Rawat government.