On a day of fast-paced developments with regard to the crisis in Uttarakhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue, and Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal reportedly disqualified the nine Congress MLAs who had joined their BJP counterparts to dislodge the Harish Rawat government. The rebel MLAs released a video that purported to show Chief Minister Harish Rawat allegedly offering money in return for their support. Sources in the Cabinet proposed a prospect of imposing President’s Rule in the State. The decision will be taken at a time when the Rawat government faces a floor test in the Assembly. The Chief Minister met the Speaker at his residence soon after the Union Cabinet meeting began, appealing to him to disqualify the rebel MLAs, including veterans Vijay Bahuguna and Harak Singh Rawat. This has created a crisis and it is very difficult for the Congress to recover from these set backs in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
M. R. Jayanthi
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