President’s rule comes three days after Narayanasamy’s government fell in Puducherry. Chief Minister Narayanasamy was unable to prove his majority in the floor test held on 22 February. He then submitted his resignation to Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Sundararajan. Now, Puducherry is under President’s Rule after 20 years. Earlier, there was 121 days of President’s rule from March 4, 1991, to July 3, 1991.
Also read: Puducherry CM Resigns After Losing Confidence motion; Another Fall Of Congress Led Govt.
Since Independence, President’s rule has been imposed in the country 132 times till now. During Indira Gandhi’s prime ministership, 51 times President’s rule was imposed. During the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President’s rule has been imposed for the 10th time till now.
What is the President’s rule?
- Under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, the President’s rule is imposed in a state where all the possibilities of running a constitutionally elected government are eliminated.
- The state assembly is dissolved and the governor appointed by the central government discharges executive powers in the state.
- During this period, the central government controls all administrative and legislative powers of the state and the President’s rule is considered to be in force in the state.
When the President’s rule applies?
- When the assembly of a state is unable to elect the chief minister.
- When the coalition government running in the state collapses due to lack of a majority.
- When assembly elections in the state cannot be held on time due to unavoidable reasons.
- When a state appears to be in clear violation of the rules and regulations laid down in the Constitution.
History of President’s rule
President’s rule was first imposed in 1951. Punjab was the first state to impose President’s rule after the constitution came into force. Due to the split in the Congress, President’s rule was imposed here between 20 June 1951 and 17 April 1952. Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister at that time. During Jawaharlal Nehru’s Prime Minister, there were 7 times President’s rules.
Lal Bahadur Shastri became Prime Minister after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964. During his government President’s rule was imposed only in Kerala, that too because no party could get a majority in the elections there.
Indira Gandhi had a total of 15 years as Prime Minister before and after the Emergency. During this period, President’s rule was imposed in different states 36 times between 1966 and 1977 and 15 times between 1980 and 1984.
The Janata Party government was formed after the Emergency was over. Morarji Desai became Prime Minister. During the three-year tenure of the Janata Party, a total of 21 occasions came when President’s rule was imposed in different states. These included President’s rule during the tenure of Morarji Desai 17 times and Charan Singh 4 times.
President’s rule under the present government
Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the first time on 26 May 2014. President’s rule was imposed in Maharashtra from 28 September 2014 to 31 October 2014 for the first time in his government. At that time, the Congress government in Maharashtra had fallen. His government has imposed President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Puducherry.