Karnataka does a U-turn in Uma Bharti case

Political compulsion behind the move, say experts

In a mystifying twist, the Karnataka government on Monday submitted in the high court that it stood by a two-year old Cabinet decision dropping charges against former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti against whom it had sought reopening of the rioting case in May last in a Hubli court.

This, after the state government sent a police team to carry out a non-bailable arrest warrant against Bharti. Advocate-General BT Parthasarathy appeared before a Bench, headed by Chief Justice NK Jain, and said: "There is no political vendetta against Bharti."

The government stood by the Cabinet decision of 2002 withdrawing all charges against Bharti and others, he said. Bharti, who resigned as chief minister last Monday to appear before the court in Hubli, faced charges in a case of rioting in which five persons were killed in the firing when she defied prohibitory orders to hoist the national flag at the Idgah Maidan in Hubli on the Independence Day in 1994.

The Karnataka government's U-turn, is, according to Congress sources, more to do with the strength of the case. "The decision to withdraw the cases in 2002 had been taken as most of the cases against Bharti were not strong, political compulsions made the government reverse the Cabinet decision," said an All-India Congress Committee (AICC) office-bearer.

"It would be humiliating for the government to lose the case, also Bharti has resigned as chief minister, so why give her additional martyrdom," he added.

According to political observers, the Dharam Singh government's about face is guided more by the immediate political compulsion and not the strength or weakness of the cases.

The petition to withdraw the cases has come just two days before Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani is to launch a "satyagraha" to demand dropping of cases against Bharti. Most of the top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were to participate in the the protest.

Following the attorney-general's submission, the court directed the judicial magistrate first class, Hubli, to consider the application of the additional public prosecutor seeking withdrawal of the cases against the BJP leader.

After Bharti surrendered in a Hubli court, she was remanded to 14 days judicial custody by the first class magistrate and has been lodged in a guest house of the Dharwad University.

The SM Krishna government had decided in 2002 to withdraw all the cases against Bharti. But the judicial magistrate had refused to give consent for withdrawal of the case and rejected the government application for withdrawal of the cases on technical grounds saying it had no jurisdiction.

But in a somersault, the government headed by Dharam Singh filed a revision petition before the sessions court against the judicial magistrate order.

On August 3, the judicial magistrate declared Bharti and others proclaimed offenders and orders for attachment of their property for forcing their physical appearance were also issued.

Bharti can now move the high court for bail. However, whether she will get her chief minister's chair back is doubtful. Her future progress according to BJP leaders will be in central politics.