Congress shifts MLAs to 'safe place' ahead of floor test in Uttarakhand Assembly

Dehradun: The ruling Congress in Uttarakhand has shifted all its MLAs to a 'safeplace' in Ramnagar with more than a week to go for the floor test in the Assembly, sources said on Sunday.

BJP MLA Bhim Lal Arya, who was suspended on Saturday, is also being moved along with the other Congress MLAs, said sources.

Meanwhile, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party for the current political situation in Uttarakhand. "Toppling elected governments by indulging in horse trading and blatant misuse of money and muscle, seems to be BJP's new model, after failure in Bihar", his official handle read.

"This attack on our democracy & Constitution, first in Arunachal & now Uttarakhand, is the true face of Modiji's BJP". Congress Party will fight demagoguery with democracy," Rahul said.

The Uttarakhand government landed in a political crisis after it got merely 32 votes in favour against the 36 required for the Finance Bill to be passed.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the other hand said there is deep division in the Congress in Uttarakhand and this division is not attributable to BJP. "If you make one CM, the other gets annoyed. Majority is saying that we have voted against budget but Speaker has accepted a failed bill. This is unique and never seen in a democracy. They don't have numbers", he said.

Facing a political crisis, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday got a breather with Governor Krishna Kant Paul asking him to prove his majority on the floor of the state Assembly by March 28.

The Governor's directive to Rawat came even as BJP, claiming majority with support of nine rebel Congress MLAs in the 70-member Assembly, stepped up efforts to form its government, contending that the Rawat ministry has been reduced to a minority.

On his part, Rawat asserted that he was ready to prove his majority in the Assembly.

While BJP claimed the support of 35 MLAs including the rebel Congress legislators, Rawat said he still enjoys a majority in the Assembly as none of the rebel MLAs have quit the party or the CLP. He also said that five of the rebels were in touch with him.