Wednesday Post

For last 2 days one news is being circulated on the social media regarding Congress Prime Ministers have imposed President’s Rule on the states for number of times but Narendra Modi has not imposed President’s Rule on states even once. This post has been forwarded so many times without checking the facts by the forwarding person. What this post says –

PM Jawaharlal Nehru imposed President’s rule 8 times

Indira Gandhi 39 times

Rajiv Gandhi  6 times

PV Narsimha Rao 11 times

Manmohan Singh 12 times.

Narendra Modi 0 times

President’s rule is the imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution of India on a State whose constitutional machinery has failed. It can be described as a situation when the government of the State cannot carry out its responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. During such situations, the State comes under the direct control of the Central government and the executive authority is exercised through the centrally appointed Governor.

What can lead to President’s Rule

1 State legislature is unable to elect leader as Chief Minister.

2 Collapse of a coalition govt due to disagreements.

3 Serious breakdown of law & order.

4  Postponement of Elections due to various reasons.

5 Loss of majority in the state Assembly.

6 Shoot up of insurgency or rebellion.

Following are instances when Modi govt imposed the President’s rule in the states:

1 Maharashtra 14^th Sept 2014 to 31^st Oct 2014-

Following the withdrawal of the Nationalist Congress Party’s support to the Congress government which reduced it to a minority in the Maharashtra Assembly, Prithviraj Chavan had resigned as the state’s Chief Minister. The BJP, which also ended its 25-year-old alliance with the Shiv Sena then demanded the President’s Rule in Maharashtra, a fortnight before the state voted to elect its new government on October 15. The assembly was kept in suspended animation.

2 Jammu & Kashmir 9^th Jan 2015 to 1^st March 2015

President Pranab Mukherjee had approved the recommendation of J & K Governor N. N. Vohra as deadlock continued in the State over the formation of the new government after voters handed a fractured verdict in assembly elections. Caretaker Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had requested the Governor to relieve him of his duties and Governor’s rule was imposed. A PDP-BJP alliance subsequently formed government.

3 Jammu & Kashmir 9^th Jan 2016

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, founder of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had died at the age of 79 in New Delhi. Sayeed’s death was the cause for the promulgation of Governor Rule after allies; PDP and BJP deferred the government formation process till the end of the four-day mourning period.

4 Arunachal Pradesh 26 Jan 2016

As a section of Congress MLAs was disqualified by the Speaker, following which the party repeatedly clashed with the Speaker on conducting assembly proceedings. The Governor recommended President’s rule.

5 Uttarakhand 27^th March 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee had signed the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution dismissing the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat and placing the Assembly under suspended animation based on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet. According to the Centre, the continuance of the Rawat government was “immoral and unconstitutional”, after 18^th Mar 2016, when the Speaker had declared the Appropriation Bill “passed” in controversial circumstances without allowing a division pressed for by 35 MLAs, including 9 rebel Congress legislators.

6 Jammu & Kashmir  Developments after June 2017

Central rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in June 2017 after the resignation of the then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, when the BJP withdrew support from the PDP led government. Jammu And Kashmir: December 2018 The central government had imposed President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir starting from December 20, 2018. A communication from the governor’s office was sent to the centre and subsequently, it was moved to the Union Cabinet for its nod.

7 Maharashtra: November 2019

President Ram Nath Kovind had approved a proclamation imposing President’s Rule in Maharashtra, following a recommendation from Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. The Assembly was kept under suspended animation. Koshyari had taken the decision a day after he invited the third-largest party in the Assembly, the NCP, to explore the possibility of forming a government in the State, before that he had invited BJP and Shiv Sena also.. According to a senior Home Ministry official, soon after the Governor’s report was sent, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met and approved a recommendation to the President to issue a proclamation under Article 356(1) of the Constitution.

Above are the 7 instances when the President’s rule was imposed in state, after Modi govt took over in May 2014. Yes the circumstances in which the President’s rule was imposed warranted the same. Yes it was not imposed on whims and fancies of PM, which was the case when Indira Gandhi was ruling.

 

Waiting for your views/feed backs/comments.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

14^th Oct 2020