Uttarakhand crisis: SC rejects nine rebel MLAs’ plea to participate in floor test tomorrow

09 May, New Delhi

The Supreme Court Monday rejected the pleas of nine dissident Congress MLAs of Uttarakhand to be allowed to participate in the floor test tomorrow.

A division bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Shiva Kriti Singh, while refusing to interfere with the Uttarakhand High Court order, said that the rebel Congress MLAs could not participate in the floor test tomorrow in the state legislative Assembly.

The Apex Court passed the order today after hearing detailed arguments from the Central government and lawyers of the dissident MLAs. The nine Congress rebel MLAs had approached the Apex Court after the Uttarakhand High Court in the morning rejected their pleas to participate in the floor test in the Assembly.

The Uttarakhand assembly has 70 members, out of which Congress has 27, excluding the nine rebels. The Bharatiya Janata Party has 28 members while there are six from other parties.

Harish Rawat would need at least 32 members for claiming his majority on the floor.