Governor may impose Delhi rule in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR, Dec 26: Gujarat appears to be heading for a spell of President's Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution, most probably wit...

GANDHINAGAR, Dec 26: Gujarat appears to be heading for a spell of President’s Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution, most probably within the first week of the New Year, according to sources in the state administration.

The sources say that either Governor K S Singh or a senior Raj Bhavan official will go to Delhi on Sunday and submit a detailed report to the President on the need for President’s Rule in Gujarat. Copies of the letter will be given to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Home department.

The governor, who has come under a lot of criticism, especially from the BJP, for his decision to dissolve the Assembly, is believed to have held discussions with state advocate-general J M Thakore and the additional advocate-general in this regard.

Story continues below this ad

Singh’s case was bolstered today when, say sources, 155 of the 181 legislators — from the BJP, Congress and RJP (A) sent in requests for imposition of President’s Rule. The remaining legislators are members of the RJP.

The last letter of the day was from State Congress president C D Patel and CLP leader Amarsinh Chaudhry, who have said that following the split in the RJP, the ruling party had been reduced to 24 members. They also said they feared misuse of official machinery in the event of an election held under a caretaker government.

These sentiments were echoed by Atmaram Patel in his letter, as also the BJP legislators.