Advani-led BJP Delegation to Meet President for Sacking Governor
 by Gabriel Vaz
Daijiworld Media Network
 
Bangalore, Oct 13: Despite the ``good turn” done by Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj in asking beleaguered saffron Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to prove his majority on the floor of the State Assembly for the second time by October 14, a high-level BJP delegation led by veteran BJP leader L K Advani will be meeting President Pratibha Patil for demanding sacking of the Governor.

Apparently, the BJP intends to keep up the pressure on the Congress-led UPA regime and step up the heat on the Governor to prevent him from resorting to any other ``partisan” moves like asking the Chief Minister to prove his majority for the third time in case the Karnataka High Court’s verdict in the writ petitions against the disqualification of 11 MLAs of ruling BJP and 5 Indpendents goes against the Yeddyurappa regime.
 
Clearly, the BJP wants to ensure that the Governor does not ask the Yeddyurappa regime to prove its majority for the third time in less than a week in the event of the High Court ruling in favour of the disqualified MLAs, when the ruling party is almost certain to lose its majority.
 
Another important consideration before the BJP is to continue to exert pressure on both the President and the Centre to keep the trigger-happy Karnataka Governor under a tight leash lest he commit yet another foolhardy gesture to harm the interests of Yeddyurappa regime and favour the ``unholy nexus” among the Congress-JD(S) combine.
 
The BJP is accusing the Governor of plunging the State into a constitutional crisis and acting in a partisan manner by seeking to unseat a democratically elected Government and wants the Centre to immediately dismiss or at least recall Bhardwaj for his high-handed and partisan conduct.
 
The Advani-led BJP delegation will comprise of the party’s Opposition leaders in both Houses of Parliament Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitely, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari, former national presidents and union ministers Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Venkaiah Naidu and other senior leaders.
 
Yeddyurappa, who had rushed to Delhi for holding consultations with the BJP high command and also parade his 105 BJP MLAs before Rashtrapathi Bhavan to demonstrate his majority in the Assembly by a chartered flight, returned to Bangalore last night soon after the High Court’s Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J S Kehar and Justice N Kumar concluded hearing on the disqualification of the 11 BJP MLAs and reserved its ruling after postponing the hearing in respect of the writ petitions filed by the 5 Independents to October 18 till 2.30 pm to take up the ``second chance” offered by the Governor to prove his majority in the House.
 
Though Yeddyurappa and BJP’s national leaders had initially criticised the Governor for offering the second chance in the afternoon to prove the majority again when the ruling party in the State had clearly crossed the floor test hurdle by voice vote, the party’s think-tank decided to reverse its position soon after the High Court’s refusal to stay the disqualification or pass any interim orders became public because in the absence of the 16 dissident MLAs – by virtue of disqualification – the Yeddyurappa regime enjoys a clear majority in the House.
 
Understandly, both the state Congress and JD(S) leaders, who were counting on the dismissal of the Yeddyurappa regime and imposition of President’s Rule in the State and a subsequent opportunity for a coalition experiment, are cut with the Governor and question the rationale and wisdom in asking for a second floor test in less than 48 hours after terming the trust vote secured by Yeddyurappa by voice vote as a ``farce.”
 
However, it remains to be seen whether the disqualified MLAs with the support of their Congress-JD(S) leaders as also the assistance of top legal brains succeed in their mission of convincing the High Court to either come out with its ruling on the fate of the 11 BJP MLAs and allows them to participate and vote in the Assembly during the trust vote or at least issues a direction either to the Speaker or even the Governor to ensure that the floor test is postponed till its decision on October 18 or later. Yet another remote possibility is to ask the 16 disqualified MLAs to submit their ``opinions” in sealed envelopes, which could be opened after the judgement on the writ petitions and thereby make the floor test subject to its decision.
 
As of now, anyway, the Yeddyurappa regime appears to have an edge and could manage to survive – unless the court intervenes or the Governor or Centre decide to play spoilsport.

Kar 'Natak' So Far...

• Governor’s Second Chance Might Prove Yeddy’s 'Second Life'
• Bangalore: Yeddy accepts Governor’s 'Second Chance'
• Bangalore : Hearing of 16 MLAs Disqualification Plea Adjourned to Oct 18
• Governor Lashes out at BJP Govt, says Trust Vote 'Not Proper'
• CM Asked to Prove Majority Again, Governor Sets Oct 14 as Deadline
• BJP to Parade 105 MLAs Before Rashtrapathi Bhavan on October 12
• High Court Puts off Hearing Against 'Disqualification' to Oct 12
• Governor to Centre: Dismiss Yeddy, Clamp President’s Rule
• Presence of MLCs in Assembly Raises Questions of Impropriety
• Eyes on Governor, Centre after Yeddy Passes Floor Test
• Bangalore: Yet Another Brazen Act: Yeddy Bans Media Coverage
• Yeddy gets 16 MLAs Disqualified to Overcome Floor Test Hurdle
• BJP Crisis: Speaker may Pronounce Order Before Trust Vote
• Will Yeddyurappa Survive? Odds are Not Favourable
• Governor Puts Breaks on Disqualification Petition
• Bangalore: JDS Indulging in Horse Trading, says Eshwarappa
• Bangalore: BJP Crisis Deepens as More Legislators Join Rebels
• Congress, JD-S have Kidnapped State MLAs, Alleges BJP
• Yeddyurappa Government Will Fall, says Kumaraswamy
• K'taka Crisis: Dissident MLAs Given Deadline
• Bangalore: BJP Crisis - Rebels Face Threat of Disqualification
• Bangalore: Deadlock in BJP as Rebels Stay Put in Goa
• Deve Gowda Says Yeddy is 'Misleading' Speaker
• 11 Karnataka Rebel BJP Legislators Get Show-cause Notice
• Parrikar Begins Fresh Round of Talks with Rebel BJP Legislators
• Kumaraswamy Meets Karnataka Rebels in Goa Resort
• Renukacharya & Co Will Return on Friday, Promise to Support Yeddyurappa
• Yeddy Might Survive Trust Vote; Katta May be Asked to Quit
• Bangalore: Yeddy Sacks Asnotikar, Jarkiholi - Bellubbi, Others Return
• 12 Dissident Karnataka BJP Legislators in Mumbai, May Go to Goa
• 'Horse-trading' of MLAs in Full Swing as Yeddy Braces for Floor Test on Oct 11
• Deve Gowda Family's Misdeeds will be Exposed: Yeddyurappa
• Yeddy Regime Plunges into Crisis, Asked to Prove Majority by Oct 12