Newly formed Congress Govt. in U'khand is unconstitutional: Nishank

Dehradun, Mar 15 (ANI): Expressing his displeasure at the current political turmoil in Uttarakhand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Thursday termed the newly formed government in the state as unconstitutional in nature.

Nishank noted that his party would gladly step in to form the government, if the current uncertainty of Congress-rule continues.

"This newly formed government is unconstitutional totally. What happened today in the assembly would happen also during the majority vote. So, if they are unsuccessful in sustaining this government then the BJP would surely step in to form the government as I had said earlier," he said.

"I think the invitation given by the Governor to the Congress party to form the government was not at all constitutional because at that very moment 16-17 legislators were sitting in Delhi in protest. So they were in a minority even then. I feel this is a constitutional crisis," he.

Nishank predicted that the Congress Government in the state would not last long, as it already looked like a divided house and unstable.

"This government already looks scared and is faltering right at the start. This is not good even for democracy. We have no problems if they form a strong government and run it well but then there should be some proof of that," he added.

Congress Party had earlier on Wednesday defended its decision to select Vijay Bahuguna as Uttarakhand Chief Minister instead of senior leader Harish Rawat, saying there is no difference within the party and the matter will be solved after due consultations.

Terming the ongoing row over the appointment of Bahuguna as hype created by the media, Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said: "There is no difference within the party of any kind. This is an internal matter of the party. It is not necessary for the MLAs to be present there. It never happens that all the MLAs are present during the swearing-in-ceremony of the chief minister. This is media hype. The matter will be solved after due consultations within the party.

"I assure you everything will be normal. Vijay Bahugunaji is the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, he has taken the oath of office. The party is committed to solve the problems the people of the state faced in the last five years," he added.

Harish Rawat, who was seen as a frontrunner for the Uttarakhand chief minister's post, had earlier offered to resign from the cabinet following Bahuguna's selection for the top post.

According to reports, Rawat sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He had also written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, saying that he would prefer to work as a party worker.

In the 70-member Assembly, Congress had emerged as the largest party with 32 MLAs and has the support of three independent MLAs and one from UKD. The Bahujan Samaj Party, having strength of three members, has pledged its unconditional support to Congress, raising its tally to 39. (ANI)