After Announcing '11 Decisions' As Chief Minister, Harish Rawat Becomes 'Ex' Again

Dehrdaun: Hours after Harish Rawat announced that his cabinet had taken "11 decisions," he learned that he is not Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Again.

"From what I understand, yesterday I was a Chief Minister appointed by the High Court, before that I was dismissed by President's Rule, today I am yet again 'dismissed' as present Chief Minister," Mr Rawat said soon after the Supreme Court ruled that till its next hearing on Wednesday, Uttarakhand will remain under President's Rule.

"We abide by the Supreme Court order, will argue on the basis of merit," Mr Rawat said, also pointing out that the "order is interim."

Mr Rawat had held a cabinet meeting late on Thursday night, after his return to office was cleared by the Uttarakhand High Court, which said he had incorrectly been removed last month by the centre in a blatant misuse of President's Rule, allowing the union government to manage Uttarakhand through Governor Paul.

The Centre had appealed in the Supreme Court against that verdict, which was a deep embarrassment for it, not least because of the extreme criticism of its motives by the Uttarakhand judges. The Centre has claimed that President's Rule was necessary because Mr Rawat has lost his majority in the legislature and therefore heads a minority government.

That reasoning is attributed by the Centre to the allegation that nine Congress legislators voted against the budget presented last month by the Chief Minister. The BJP says the budget was wrongly declared cleared, when, in fact, the majority of votes were cast against it. Mr Rawat and the Congress disagree. He has been told to take a trust vote on the 29th (next Friday).

The challenge for him in winning that vote will shrink vastly if a judge decides that the nine Congress rebels are disqualified from the House for defecting. Without their participation, Mr Rawat will need much fewer votes in his favour.