Taking note of the developments in Karnataka in the wake of Governor H. R. Bhardwaj granting sanction to prosecute Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa for his alleged involvement in land scams, Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram on Saturday asked the State government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to maintain law and order.
Maintaining that the Governor's decision was in accordance with the law, he said, the BJP's move to take to the streets against the Governor's decision was not acceptable.
“It is not the first time that a Governor has given his sanction to prosecute a Chief Minister or a Minister of the State Government. The law in this respect is clear and well-settled. The leading case in this behalf is M.P. Special Police Establishment Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh. That was a case in which the then Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Bhai Mahavir, overruled the advice of the Cabinet and granted sanction to prosecute two Ministers. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court upheld the order of the Governor,” Mr. Chidambaram said in a statement here.
The Home Minister said he was “disappointed'' that the BJP had raised the decibel level and taken to the streets which was “not correct” and was “totally unacceptable.”
“The government of Karnataka is obliged to maintain law and order in the State, not to standby when law and order is disrupted by party cadres or there are acts of violence,'' he said.
