Home Minister P Chidambaram today flayed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for taking to the streets to protest Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj's sanction for Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's prosecution on corruption charges.
Stating that he was disappointed that the BJP raised the decibel level and had taken to the streets, the home minister observed: “This is not correct and is totally unacceptable.” He asked the state government not to forget that it was obliged to maintain law and order in the state.
He also asked the BJP leadership that even the Lok Ayukta of Karnataka, retired justice Santosh Hegde, had observed that the governor had the jurisdiction to grant sanction for prosecution against the chief minister and the state home minister who had allegedly transferred government land in the name of their family members.
“I am disappointed that the BJP has raised the decibel level and has taken to the streets. This is not correct and is totally unacceptable. The government of Karnataka is obliged to maintain law and order in the state and not to standby when law and order is disrupted by party cadres or there are acts of violence. I have requested the home secretary to speak to the chief secretary and the director general of police, Karnataka in this regard,” he said.
