Congress wins back Uttarakhand, President's Rule lifted

New Delhi: In one of the biggest setbacks for the Modi government, the Congress, led by Harish Rawat, won back Uttarakhand as the results of the floor test in the state Assembly were revealed to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The top court asked the Centre to immediately reinstate Mr Rawat as chief minister and the government promptly recommended revocation of President’s Rule, which it had imposed amidst much hue and cry. It was lifted late in the evening.

With the top court announcing, “Rawat gets 33 votes out of 61 in the floor test. No irregularities were found in the voting. Nine MLAs could not vote due to their disqualification”, celebrations broke out in Dehradun. A jubilant Mr Rawat said, “Judiciary in a way came forward as an adjudicator of Constitutional and democratic values. From the Supreme Court to the High Court, I want to thank the judiciary... What ends well remains well. “And from here, making a new start will be beneficial for the state.” If it was celebration time for the Congress, BJP heavyweights were busy “introspecting”.

All saffron fingers are now pointing towards BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Rawat thanks Sonia, Rahul
The humiliating defeat has severely dented the image of BJP general secretary Kailash as a “master strategist.” Mr Vijayvargiya was made election in-charge of the party in West Bengal, where the party now seems certain to receive another electoral drubbing. As for Mr Rawat, there was no chest-thumping or rhetoric against the Centre.

“I will meet the Prime Minister and seek his cooperation,” a beaming Mr Rawat told the media in Dehradun. He also thanked Congress president Sonia gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders for their support.