Even as Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa asked governor H R Bharadwaj to call for an assembly session, the latter’s immediate recall was demanded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which called a meeting of its allies in the National Democratic Alliance on the issue.
The BJP leadership says Bharadwaj’s recommendation for President’s Rule, even as 11 formerly rebel BJP legislators expressed support for the Yeddyurappa government, defied all constitutional norms. The party leadership is to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to demand immediate recall of Bharadwaj and rejection of his recommendation.
It is also planning to parade all its Karnataka MLAs before the President tomorrow to demonstrate that it has the majority.
“The Yeddyurappa government has support of 121 MLAs, while the Opposition parties have the support of 97. The 11 BJP MLAs who had written a letter to the governor on October 6, 2010, have withdrawn that letter,” said Arun Jaitley, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
The Congress leadership believes it would not be politically prudent to act on the recommendation of the governor and Yeddyurappa should be allowed to prove his majority in the assembly. Sources in the government said Bharadwaj had sent the report in a hurry and it was believed he had exceeded his brief.
The present crisis started after the Supreme Court on May 13 quashed the disqualification of 16 MLAs, of whom 11 were from the BJP. The assembly Speaker had disqualified these MLAs from the state assembly on charges of anti-party action. This was after 11 BJP MLAs had written a letter to the governor they were disillusioned with the Yeddyurappa government.
However, with the legal battle ending and the SC rejecting the disqualification, senior leaders of the party held detailed discussions with the dissidents and assured them that at least three of the MLAs would be given suitable ministries in the coming cabinet reshuffle in Karnataka.
“It would have been logical for the Karnataka governor to have a floor test. The chief minister has asked for the governor to call for an assembly session. But Bharadwaj instead sent a report suggesting action under Article 356 of the constitution. The report is unconstitutional and must be rejected,” Jaitley told reporters after the NDA meeting.
Last year, after the 16 MLAs were disqualified, the Karnataka CM had twice won a trust vote, on October 11 and October 14.
