Uttarakhand political crisis: Nine rebel Congress MLAs' fate to be decided today

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): As Uttarakhand crisis deepens, the fate of nine rebel Congress MLAs would be decided on  with their viewpoints to be put forth to Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal.

The Congress MLAs' lawyers and representatives have reached the Uttarakhand Assembly, while the media persons have been prohibited from entering the assembly premises by the Speaker.

Late last night, there were reports that after his meeting with Chief Minister Harish Rawat, the Speaker disqualified the nine legislators.

However, Uttarakhand Minister Indira Hridayash confirmed that the nine rebel Congress MLAs were not suspended and it was a rumour.

The Speaker had given the MLAs time till March 26 to respond to a notice stating why their Vidhan Sabha membership should not be terminated under the anti-defection law.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called an emergency meeting in Delhi late last night to take stock of the situation.

The meeting lasted for over an hour, but there is no official word on what transpired during the discussion.

Congress general secretary Ambika Soni accused the Modi Government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of desperately trying to dislodge the Congress government through the imposition of President's Rule.

The rebel Congress legislators yesterday released a sting video of Chief Minister Rawat and alleged that he is indulging in horse-trading to save his government.

The video purportedly showed him bargaining with rebel party lawmakers to win their support ahead of the floor test on Monday.

Reacting to the video, the BJP demanded President's Rule in the state, saying Chief Minister Rawat has no right to continue.

A delegation from the party also met President Pranab Mukherjee to press for their demand.