Bangalore : Karnataka Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah to quit?
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, May 19: Even as speculation is ripe in Karnataka’s charged political circles on the likelihood of Legislative Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah, whose decision on disqualification of 16 MLAs in October last year came under sharp criticism from the Supreme Court in its May 13 judgement, being asked to put in his papers if Governor H R Bhardwaj concedes the State Cabinet’s decision for convening the Legislature session from June 2, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has threatened to go on a state-wide tour if Raj Bhavan refuses to fall in line by Thursday night.
A group of seven senior cabinet ministers, including Home and Transport Minister R Ashok and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar, jointly addressed a news conference to warn that the Chief Minister himself would lead a massive protest against the Governor from Mahatma Gandhi statue, a walking distance from Raj Bhavan, on Friday morning if the consent for the May 16 cabinet decision for convening the budget session of the legislature was not given by this evening.
The Governor had informed the Chief Minister, when he called on him at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday evening along with Suresh Kumar and a couple of senior cabinet ministers to seek immediate approval for convening a 10-day session of both houses of the legislature for approving the budget proposals for the year 2011-12, that he would give his decision ``within a day or day” after hearing from the Centre on his special report sent on Sunday afternoon following the apex court’s verdict quashing the disqualification of the 11 BJP MLAs and 5 Independents.
However, the Congress-led UPA regime, which had its regular weekly cabinet meeting in Delhi this afternoon, is reported to have chosen not to discuss the Karnataka Governor’s special report recommending imposition of President’s rule and keeping the State Assembly in suspended animation. The Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, who spoke to reporters after the Union Cabinet’s meeting, replied with a cryptic ``no.”
It remains to be seen whether Bhardwaj, who ignored the State Cabinet’s decision of May 13 morning hours before the Supreme Court verdict for convening the legislature session of both houses from May 16 and the subsequent second resolution of the State Cabinet for summoning the legislature session from June 2, will change his stand and fall in line with the wishes of the Yeddyurappa regime especially after the former’s public admission that ``the Chief Minister enjoys a massive majority.”
Incidentally, the State BJP office-bearers and other senior party leaders, including the Chief Minister, are expected to meet in the party office with State party chief K S Eshwarappa at 9 am in the morning and stage a protest before the Mahatma Gandhi statue under Yeddyurappa’s leadership at 11 am.
Though speculation is ripe in political circles that the BJP high command has asked the Chief Minister to prevail upon the Speaker K G Bopaiah to voluntarily step down in view of the Supreme Court verdict that came down heavily on the disqualification order in a hurry without following the due process, none of the senior BJP leaders wished to either confirm or deny the reports.
The Speaker’s resignation, according to a party leader who did not wish to be quoted, is a ploy to blunt the opposition Congress and JD(S) attacks against the Chief Minister. A formal decision might be announced on the eve of the legislature session, assuming the Governor accepts the state cabinet’s decision for summoning it from June 2, the BJP leader said.
Senior cabinet ministers C M Udasi, Basavaraj Bommai, C H Vijayshankar, B N Bache Gowda and A Narayanaswamy, who joined Ashok and Suresh Kumar in addressing the media, to announce the ruling party’s protest before the Mahatma Gandhi statue on Friday morning if the Governor failed to announce his decision by tonight, lashed out the Congress and JD(S) for their attempts to topple a government enoying a comfortable majority by exerting undue pressure on the Governor.
Meanwhile, opposition Congress leaders led by KPCC President Dr G Parameshwar, leaders of opposition in both houses of state legislature Siddaramaiah and Motamma and all party legislators held a massive dharna in front of Mahatama Gandhi statue in the morning urging the Centre to accept the Governor’s recommendation for clamping President’s Rule in the State as the Supreme Court judgement nullifying the disqualification of the 16 MLAs was a clear proof that the Yeddyurappa regime was ``illegally ruling the State since October last year” as the 16 MLAs had informed Raj Bhavan in writing about their opposition to Yeddyurappa.
Yeddyurappa lambasted the Congress party for its sit-in protest near Mahatma Gandhi statue demanding dismissal of the government. He criticized Deve Gowda and Dr Parameshwara for "trying to exert pressure" on the governor. He said the main opposition party was not honouring the people's mandate by seeking to topple a duly elected government.The Congress neither has the capacity nor the strength to face the people, he said, noting that the BJP had won all the three Assembly by-elections recently.
"I have dealt with them respectfully so far. Henceforth, I will expose their immoral deals and scandals," Yeddyurappa said. "I will not leave that easily."
Incidentally, JD(S) supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, who celebrated turned 79 on Wednesay and held a meeting with the leaders of the Left parties, Forward Block and Rashtriya Lok Dal in Delhi on Thursday, was unable to get a full backing of the Communists for his demands urging the Centre to accept the state Governor’s report.
CPI national general secretary A B Bardan and CPM politbureau member Sitraram Yechury, who were among the Left leaders to participate in Deve Gowda’s Delhi meeting, publicly declared that they had ``no objection to BJP continuing in power in Karnataka” but wanted Yeddyurappa and the Speaker to quit as the apex court’s verdict quashing the disqualification of the 16 MLAs was a ``clear and severe indictment” of both.