It is ironic that just before the Modi government used Article 356 to dismiss two Congress chief ministers in quick succession, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had declared in Parliament that this contentious clause for the imposition of President’s Rule was a non-issue in today’s era of cooperative federalism.
“These days, the fears of Article 356 being violated repeatedly or repeatedly being used against the states have disappeared,’’ he said during last November’s two-day debate to celebrate the Indian Constitution. He gave three reasons for it: the role of the judiciary, the emergence of regional parties as players in the central government and the realisation that the misuse of the clause is counterproductive.
His grand pronouncement may well come back to bite him and the BJP when Parliament reconvenes to complete the budgetary process. The Uttarakhand crisis and flowing from it, the larger issue of President’s Rule and its misuse, are likely to dominate proceedings, overshadowing the budget debate and further delaying movement on economic reforms measures like GST.