Uttarakhand Speaker Terms Quashing of President's Rule 'Historic'

Uttarakhand Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal today termed High Court's decision to quash the imposition of President' rule as a "historic" verdict, and said it was a "slap" on the face of the Centre for trying to dislodge an elected government.

The High Court's decision will set a precedent for the country in future, he said.

"This historic decision is a slap in the face of the centre which, in a dictatorial manner, tried to overthrow an elected government," Kunjwal said.

Dealing a major blow to Modi government, the Uttarakhand High Court today quashed the imposition of President' rule in the state and revived the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat, who has been asked to prove his majority on April 29.

Asked whether the nine disqualified rebel Congress MLAs would be allowed to vote during floor test, the speaker said he would be able to comment only after going through the High Court's order.

Meanwhile, Uttrakhand Congress President Kishore Upadhyay also welcomed the lifting of President's rule in the state and said those who had tried to "murder democracy" had been taught a lesson by the High Court.

People's faith in judiciary will increase after this judgement, he said.

Upadhyay said the party was waiting to receive a copy of the verdict and would decide its future course of action only after going through it.