A day after Karnataka governor H.R. Bhardwaj sanctioned the prosecution of chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the BJP leader vowed to take the issue to the people.
Asked whether he would step down in the aftermath of Mr Bhardwaj’s decision, a defiant CM asked: “Why should I resign? Has any chief minister resigned on the filing of a complaint against him?”
As the BJP enforced a bandh across the state, the CM showed no signs of panic as he went public about his intentions to ride a sympathy wave. His nemesis, two lawyers, Sirajin Basha and K.N. Balaraj, formally filed a caveat in the Karnataka high court to prevent the BJP from taking preventive action.
BSY unleashed a tirade against Mr Bhardwaj, accusing him of being a “political agent of the UPA government” and having hurt the sentiments of Kannadigas with his controversial “Ulta chor kotwal ko daante” comment in his interaction with reporters here Saturday. He also said the governor had turned Raj Bhavan into an office where Opposition parties met to destabilise the BJP government.
Determined to persuade senior BJP leaders of the need for mid-term polls, a dozen ministers and party functionaries led by his former bete noire, Mr Ananth Kumar, marched to Raj Bhavan to secure a copy of the order granting permission to the two advocates to prosecute him. The governor had refused to hand over a copy on Friday night.
The BJP leader, according to top sources in the party, is laying the groundwork for a mid-term election immediately after the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly in February-March. Such a move would help him make the most of the sympathy wave which he plans to whip up during a tour of Karnataka next month. It would help the party win a majority of the 224 seats and thus silence his critics within the BJP and the Opposition, sources said.
Mr Bhardwaj, who has earned the wrath of a section of BJP leaders, quoted several verdicts by the Supreme Court to justify his decision to sanction the prosecution of the CM without an investigation by the authorities concerned. In addition, the court had also held that the sanction to prosecute the CM was the “exclusive function of the governor” to be exercised by him at his discretion, said a Raj Bhavan communiqué.
The ruling party-sponsored bandh was marred by sporadic incidents of stone-throwing and arson, particularly in the northern districts. The state police took more than 500 people into custody in connection with violence across the state. In Mysore, while the BJP enforced a shutdown, the Opposition JD(S) re-opened shops.
As protests by ruling party activists subsided, the Opposition threatened to intensify their agitation to force Mr Yeddyurappa to step down in the wake of complaints filed against him in a local court on Saturday.