From 'bitter lesson' to 'Himalayan blunder' – BJP faces opposition ire over Uttarakhand defeat

The opposition parties on Wednesday spared no time in ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP for what they called their Himalayan blunder in the hill state of Uttarakhand.

New Delhi: With the Supreme Court reinstating the Congress-led Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand following its victory in Tuesday's floor test, the opposition parties on Wednesday spared no time in ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for what they called their 'Himalayan blunder' in the hill state.

First among them was Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi who asserted that this was the clear victory of democracy and hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi learnt his 'lesson' that the nation won't tolerate the murder of democracy.

Hope Modiji learns his lesson-ppl of this country &the institutions built by our founding fathers will not tolerate the murder of democracy! — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) May 11, 2016

Yes this is Congress's victory, victory of the people, Rahul's mother and party president Sonia Gandhi said on Uttarakhand floor test win.

Even after trying every trick in book to topple Opposition states, Modi sarkar has been brought to its knees. Its a victory of democracy, Ahmed Patel of Congress said.

No matter how hard they try they can neither intimidate Congress or subvert democracy, Patel added.

Rahul's senior party colleague AK Antony said, ''Narendra Modi still thinks he is an RSS pracharak and not the PM.''

Harish Rawat, however, was more sombre in his reaction. He said that he wanted his friends in BJP to forget the past experience and begin a new chapter.

Want to thank & tell my friends in BJP, "Let us forget the past experience and begin a new chapter" https://t.co/UTd3iExYzw — Harish Rawat (@harishrawatcmuk) May 11, 2016

Delhi's ruling AAP party said, ''PM should apologise to the nation for acting against the Indian Constitution in Uttarakhand.''

PM Modi should apologise to the nation for acting against the Indian Constitution #DemocracyWinsModiLost — Aam Aadmi Party- AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 11, 2016

Noted journalist Rajdeep Sardesai called BJP's defeat in Uttarakhand a Himalayan blunder after all.

Uttarakhand was a Himalayan blunder after all. — Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) May 11, 2016

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attacked the ruling BJP and tweeted his reaction over the Uttarakhand issues.

Uttarakhand floor test outcome is a huge setback to Modi Govt. Hope they will stop toppling Govts now — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 10, 2016

"We are rest assured that the BJP-led opposition in Uttarakhand, which had started a movement four years ago against the corruption and the ill practices of the Congress government, has been successful. It has been proved through the stings of Harish Rawat and later on his own minister Madan Singh exposed that they have given money to their MLAs," Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt said as the party tried to save its face from the embarrassment caused by the trust vote defeat.