Public interest litigation (PIL) petition was filed in the High Court regarding the political uncertainty prevailing in the State and pleaded for either imposition of President Rule or installing an interim government to resolve the crisis.
A senior advocate Krishnadeva filed the PIL which was admitted by the High Court. The petitioner named Governor E S L Narasimhan, outgoing Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, PCC president Botcha Satyanarayana, Leader of the Opposition Chandrababu Naidu and Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty as respondents.
The petitioner charged that ever since Kiran Kumar Reddy resigned as Chief Minister, the State plunged into a political crisis and uncertainty prevailed as the Governor had failed to make alternative arrangements to administer the State as per the Constitution. The petitioner further pointed out that as per Article 356, either President’s Rule should be imposed or a new government should be installed. Neither of this statutory obligation had been fulfilled as a result of which political uncertainty prevailed in the State.
The petitioner also contended that the Governor should have called the Congress, the party with largest number of members, to elect its leader and form government. If not, Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu should have been invited to form the government. However, since both these exercises have not been complied with, President’s Rule should have been imposed to break the prevailing impasse, he contended. (NSS).