Exclusive report with Time Line of events

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Exclusive report with Time Line of events

How dramatic coup was planned, executed and ….....

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 23:

The BJP pulled off a coup in Maharashtra when it formed the government early Saturday morning after the Governor B.S. Koshyari recommended revocation of President’s Rule in the state at midnight. The recommendation was sent to the President through the Ministry of Home Affairs over fax and email and also through a special messenger by flight. The Union Home Ministry lost no time in forwarding the recommendation to the President, Ram Nath Kovind overnight.

The President used his special powers conferred upon him under Clause 2 of the Article 356 of the Constitution whereby he can revoke the imposition of the President's rule on his own without waiting for the recommendation of the Union Cabinet. Otherwise, the President has to wait for the recommendation of the Union Cabinet to revoke the rule. But the Constitution gives adequate powers to the President to take a decision in his own wisdom and powers under the law.

How events unfolded:

22 November

8.00 pm: Governor B.S. Koshyari cancels his scheduled visit to Delhi causes some surprises;

8.45 – 9 pm: Ajit Pawar leaves NCP-Congress the meeting

11.30 pm: Ajit Pawar finalises a deal with BJP

23 November

12 am: Devendra Fadnavis apprises Home Minister Amit Shah details of developments, Shah discusses within party, gives go ahead;

12.15 am : BJP and NCP leader Ajit Pawar send letters of support satisfying the Governor of reasonable and stable majority

1.00 am : Koshyari recommends revocation of President’s Rule in the State, sends report through fax/email to Union Home Ministry.

1.45 am : Amit Shah's secretariat at his 6 Krishna Menon Marg residence here worked in full swing preparing all necessary documents for the President;

5.00 am: Special messenger of the Union Home Ministry hands-over documents to the President's secretariat and keeps waiting at the Rashtrapati Bhawan reception which was specially opened

5.30 am: The President walks down to his official chambers;

5.47 am: Uses his special powers and revokes President's rule

6.00 am Activities begin at the Governor House in Maharashtra

7.50 am: Koshyari starts the swearing-in ceremony process and oath ceremony complete 

8.16 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Fadnavis and Pawar on the government formation.

No Early Assembly polls in J&K

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

No Early Assembly polls in J&K

EC awaits Home Ministry Nod

Delimitation of Constituencies to begin after 18 years  

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Aug 29

The Union Home Ministry has signaled to the Election Commission that Delimitation exercise will have to wait for some more time.

The Election Commission wants to undertake the Delimitation exercise in J&K at the earliest as the process had been delayed for too long. Once the Delimitation takes place, the number of seats in the Union Territory is likely to go up to 114 from the current 107. This include 24 seats from the Pak occupied Kashmir (PoK) which remain vacant in the Assembly. The number 107 does not include four seats of Ladakh and two nominated members.

Sources say this process will begin only after the reorganisation of the two Union Territories (J&K and Ladakh) which will be effective from October 31. The Ministry of Home Ministry is in touch with the Election Commission and told the EC that the situation will normalize within the next six week. Already more than 1700 detenus have been freed and remaining 400 others are in the process of being released gradually. The process of house to house search for arms & ammunition and militants is practically over in most of the sensitive distrcits.

The Delimitation exercise, once begins, will take nearly a year to complete. Ordinarily, the process is carried out every few years to ensure that each constituency has approximately an equal number of voters. This is mandatory after every Census. But in the case of J&K, it was not allowed by the then Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah after the 2001 Census.

Dr Abdullah froze the delimitation until 2026 through an amendment which was done in 2002. But with the revocation of Article 370, the decision has been revoked automatically.

The EC, meanwhile, has begun its internal exercise and appointed a few consultants who have wide ranging experience of conducting Delimitation in the past.

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has gone on record to say that “the EC has not received any formal communication from the MHA so far.”

Therefore, the prospects of an early election in the J&K are not bright as the government is keen to restore complete normalcy. This coupled with Delimitation will take a minimum of one year. So no possibility of polls even in March next year in the state.