Dismiss Yeddy, or I will Quit: Governor
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, May 17: Governor H R Bharadwaj has reportedly threatened the centre that he would quit as governor of Karnataka if Yeddyurappa government is not dismissed in accordance with his report.
Sources in the Congress high command have told one of the English dailies in Bangalore that the governor, who in a report to the Centre recommended dismissal of the BJP government, is hell-bent on ousting Yeddyurappa and company. Although neither the governor nor his officials at Raj Bhavan have made any public statement to this effect, it is said that the showdown between him and the BJP government has reached a point of no-return.
Bharadwaj, prior to his return to Bangalore from New Delhi on Sunday, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other key leaders of the Congress and briefed them on the political situation in Karnataka. Armed with the May 13 Supreme Court order that nullified the Speaker’s disqualification of 16 rebel MLAs (a move that had helped Yeddyurappa to win the confidence vote six months ago), Bharadwaj reportedly convinced the Congress high command that it was the right time to remove the Yeddyurappa government.
The governor’s report put the Congress high command in a tricky situation as any action against the Yeddyurappa government, which now enjoys a majority in the Vidhana Soudha, might open a Pandora’s box. A discussion on the report on Monday may 17 morning saw the UPA leaders divided on the next course of action. A majority of them insisted that Bharadwaj’s report be cast aside as dismissal of the Yeddyurappa government would prove suicidal for the party in Karnataka.