Bangalore:
The continuing Karnataka crisis has now alomost reached a tipping point. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now threatened to launch a nationwide agitation if the Centre does not, by Tuesday, decide on Governor H R Bhardwaj's report to the President recommending President's Rule in the state.
"The script was written by some Congress leaders in Delhi and it is being played by the Governor in a shameless manner. Any further delay will be a negation of the people's mandate, and goes against the spirit of Federal structure. If the Centre does not act within 24 hours the BJP will be compelled to launch a nationwide agitation - both against the Central government as well as the Governor," senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said in Bangalore.
The Governor's report led to a high-voltage drama being played out on the political battlefield of Karnataka. Mr Bhardwaj had sent a report to the Centre recommending the imposition of President's Rule in Karnataka. He did this after the Supreme Court ruled against the disqualification of 11 BJP and five Independent MLAs. These MLAs had rebelled against the Yeddyurappa government and had been disqualified just before an important trust vote in Karnataka last year. Mr Yeddyurappa had won that trust vote.
But the rebel BJP MLAs have since changed their minds and now say they are supporting Mr Yeddyurappa.
Mr Yeddyurappa had, on Tuesday last week, triumphantly paraded his 121 MLAs before the President and on emerging from Rashtrapati Bhawan, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said they had also requested the President to recall Governor Bhardwaj.
THE SUPREME COURT ORDERThe Karnataka Governor's suggestion over the weekend that President's Rule be imposed in the state was based on the Supreme Court order of last Friday, which said that 16 MLAs were disqualified incorrectly by the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly ahead of a crucial vote of confidence that Mr Yeddyurappa narrowly survived last year. (
Read: Major jolt for Yeddyurappa from Supreme Court)
The 16 MLAs include 11 from the BJP and five Independents who had supported the government, but in October 2010 said they would not support the Chief Minister during his trust vote. They were disqualified by the Speaker under anti-defection laws. This weekend, the BJP MLAs made it clear that they were backing their party. (
Read: BJP wins over 11 rebel MLAs)
The Supreme Court, in its order of last week, had made some strong observations about the role of the Speaker and the Chief Minister in the process of disqualification of the MLAs.
"Extraneous considerations are writ large on the face of the order of the Speaker and the same has to be set aside. The Speaker, in our view, proceeded in the matter as if he was required to meet the deadline set by the Governor, irrespective of whether, in the process, he was ignoring the constitutional norms set out in the Tenth Schedule and the Disqualification Rules, 1986, and in contravention of the basic principles that go hand in hand with the concept of a fair hearing," the court said.
"There was no compulsion on the Speaker to decide the disqualification application filed by Mr. Yeddyurappa in such a great hurry within the time specified by the Governor to conduct a vote of confidence in the government headed by Mr. Yeddyurappa. It would appear that such a course of action was adopted by the Speaker on October 10, 2010, since the vote of confidence was slated for October 12, 2010. The element of hot haste is also evident in the action of the Speaker. The procedure adopted by the Speaker seems to indicate that he was trying to meet the time schedule set by the Governor for the trial of strength and to ensure that the appellants and other independent MLAs stood disqualified prior to the date on which the floor test was to be held," the court added.