DMK questions imposition of Prez rule in U'khand

Chennai, Mar 28: Congress ally DMK today questioned the "haste" behind imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "ponder over" whether the decision was "right".

"What was the haste in imposing President's rule by using Article 356 of the Constitution when the Governor (K K Paul) had asked (Chief Minister Harish Rawat) to prove majority in the house on March 28?" DMK President M Karunanidhi asked.

Referring to the famous S R Bommai case,where the Supreme Court had discussed the issue of using Article 356 against state governments, Karunanidhi demanded to know if it was necessary to take such an "anti-democratic decision".

Imposition of President's rule would lead to politico-legal implications, he said in a statement and recalled that DMK and many other political parties, besides legal experts, had been pressing for removal of Article 356.

"In such a situation, I present my opinion (to ensure) Prime Minister Modi will ponder over whether the decision regarding Uttarakhand taken in haste is right," he said.

The DMK chief said the Union Cabinet took the decision after Modi, on an election tour in Assam, returned to Delhi on Saturday even as "it is being said" that Congress could have proved its majority with members of the Progressive Democratic Front extending support to the ruling party.

The Centre had yesterday brought Uttarakhand under President's rule, citing a Constitutional breakdown in the wake of a rebellion in the ruling Congress, which slammed the decision calling it a "murder of democracy" and a "black" day.

President Pranab Mukherjee had signed the proclamation under Art 356 dismissing the Harish Rawat headed Congress government and placing the Assembly under suspended animation on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.

PTI