BJP complains to Prez, CM faces 3 new cases
The battle between the B.S. Yeddyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka and state governor H.R. Bhardwaj reached a crescendo on Monday with a BJP delegation led by party patriarch L.K. Advani calling on President Pratibha Patil to demand the governor’s removal for his “unconstitutional conduct”. While this battle was playing in New Delhi, the chief minister also had to contend with three more private complaints filed against him in a sessions court in Bengaluru.
The BJP delegation, which included senior leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, besides 23 MPs from Karnataka, submitted a memorandum detailing a series of charges against the governor. It said Mr Bhardwaj’s removal had become imperative in order to restore constitutional order. He was accused by the BJP of being a “Congress agent” and attempting to topple the state government.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr Advani said, “We appealed to the President to recall the Karnataka governor as he has been exhibiting an extra-constitutional and confrontationist attitude. In the memorandum, we have given several instances wherein it is evident that right from the beginning he has been harbouring a political agenda.”
Senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu squarely blamed the Congress for the chaos in the state. Mr Naidu warned the Congress that the country would plunge into a crisis if it continued to turn a blind eye to the actions of Mr Bhardwaj. He said: “If governors want to rule like this, go against the mandate of the people, not do their constitutional duty, then there will be chaos across the country.”
The BJP, in its memorandum, drew attention to various statements by the governor, saying “such statements are typically made in public only by Opposition leaders and not by a constitutional head of government.”
The move to seek Mr Bhardwaj’s dismissal follows his decision to grant sanction to prosecute the CM on charges of alleged corruption. NDA convenor Sharad Yadav, president of the JD(U), also attacked the governor for having “exceeded limits”.
Mr Yeddyurappa, who has earned the dubious distinction of being Karnataka’s first chief minister to face prosecution for alleged acts of corruption while in office, had three more complaints filed against him. All three cases relate to alleged illegal land deals. Besides Mr Yeddyurappa, his sons B.Y. Raghavendra, MP, B.Y. Vijayendra, son-in-law Sohan Kumar, former minister S.N. Krishnaiah Setty, Bharathi Shetty, MLC, and Dr D. Hemachandra Sagar, MLA, also figure in the complaints lodged by advocate Sirajin Basha.
The complaints registered before the 23rd additional city civil and sessions judge, Mr C.B. Hipparagi, who is also the special judge for Lokayukta cases, listed three offences each relating to alleged illegal land deals.
Continuing his tirade against the governor, Mr Yeddyurappa said: “We have information that all the petitions submitted to him against the government were drafted in Raj Bhavan.”
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