Bhardwaj should Become Congress Spokesman, Says Venkaiah

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Sep 18: Attacking governor H R Bhardwaj for constantly 'dabbling in politics' and frequently meddling in the political domain by criticising the B S Yeddyurappa-led BJP government in the state, senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday September 18 urged the former union law minister to quit his post and get himself appointed as the Congress spokesman.
               
''Why should the Raj Bhavan be allowed to function as a de-facto Congress office or the governor engage himself in talking about the government’s policies, talking about ministers and giving sermons on what he thinks as the correct behaviour?” asked the former national president of BJP, who is also the party’s Rajya Sabha member from the state.
               
Talking to reporters in Bangalore on Saturday, Venkaiah Naidu, who had also served as the union rural development minister in the A B Vajpayee-led NDA regime, said the functioning of the state governor was ''most disgraceful and unbecoming of the constitutional post.”
               
While there have been instances of governors functioning at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre, especially those who belonged to the Congress party, Naidu said he had not come across any governor who had  indulged in partisan politics as had been done by Bhardwaj.

''I have not come across any governor in the past who had named or criticised any political party,” Naidu said.

Referring to the Congress party’s poor show in the two assembly by-elections in the state, which saw the principal opposition party finishing a poor third and failing to retain the seat held by it, the BJP leader said:  “governor is not expected to criticise political parties as the post is Constitutional.”

The governor and the BJP government have been involved in a public spat over different issues during the last two years. The governor had recently gone to the extent of asking chief minister Yeddyurappa to tender an unconditional apology over his reported remarks on illegal mining, further infuriating BJP.

Bhardwaj had also objected to state ministers attacking him for referring the bill against cow slaughter to the President, saying as a Brahmin, he need not learn about cow protection from BJP.
               
The senior BJP leader said the dismal performance of Congress party in the by-elections in state as well as in Gujarat, ruled by the BJP, was ''nothing but a slap in the face” and contended that the people had rejected the negative politics practiced by the party.

The fact that Congress drew a blank in both Karnataka and Gujarat indicated that the people had rejected the negative politics practiced by the Congress and had taught a lesson to the Congress for misusing the institution of the governor in state and the CBI in Gujarat.

In Karnataka, the Congress raised a hue and cry and leveled false allegations against the government on illegal mining. The state Assembly was turned into battleground and they also took out a padayatra. The Central ministers who participated in the Bellary rally had threatened the state government by stating that the Centre will not keep quiet. Even the governor is dabbling in politics. All these have boomeranged on the Congress.

He remarked that nobody could save the Congress if it did not correct its political approach by shunning negative politics. The Congress should respect the spirit of the people’s verdict and behave as a responsible Opposition, he said.

Naidu expressed concern over the misgovernance and failure of the Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh. He also lashed out at the mishandling of the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP does not want to precipitate the issue related to handling of Kashmir by the Centre at this juncture as its priority was to ensure that normalcy is restored in the valley, he said.

On the proposed visit of all-party leaders to Kashmir to hold talks with the leaders there, he said the BJP’s stand was that talks could be held with anybody if they believed in the Indian Constitution, shun violence and accept the fact that Kashmir is an integral part of India.