Uttarakhand Assembly effective strength now 62: Speaker

Dehradun, Apr 21: Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal today said the "effective strength" of the House has now come down to 62 as the state High Court has upheld the disqualification of the nine rebel Congress MLAs.

"The effective strength of the Uttarakhand Assembly is now 62 with the disqualification of the nine rebel Congress MLAs," Kunjwal said.

Out of the 62 MLAs, 27 belong to Congress, PDF has six and BJP 28. It also includes a nominated Anglo-Indian member.

The nominated member is also eligible to vote in the vote of confidence in the Assembly on April 29, he said.

Asked about rebel BJP MLA Bhim Lal Arya, against whom his party had submitted a petition to the Speaker seeking his disqualification, Kunjwal said the petition has not been disposed off yet and Arya can take part in the trust vote.

The imposition of President's rule in the state was today quashed by a High Court division bench, which restored the dismissed Congress government.

Directing revival of the Harish Rawat government, which was dismissed by the Centre on March 27, the court ordered that he should seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on April 29.

Crucially, it also upheld the disqualification of nine rebel Congress MLAs, saying they have to pay the price of committing the "Constitutional sin" of defection by being disqualified by the Speaker.

PTI