The report of Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj evidently went well beyond citing the Supreme Court judgment that had reversed the Karnataka High Court's decision to disqualify 11 BJP rebel legislators and five independents, ahead of a crucial trust vote in the State Assembly.
The issues cited by Mr. Bhardwaj had caused “grave concern” as they were “not signs of good governance,” Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on Monday.
He expressed the hope that the Karnataka government would take “corrective and remedial steps” after it received the advisory of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Explaining why the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) rejected the Governor's recommendation to impose President's Rule, Mr. Chidambaram said: “The facts [in the Governor's report] didn't enable us to come to a conclusion with regard to Article 356.” The CCPA, he added, was also “mindful” of the Supreme Court ruling on the issue, a reference to the S.R. Bommai judgment that had placed safeguards on the dismissal of a State government by the Centre.
Stressing that the Governor had not erred in any way, Mr. Chidambaram underscored the fact that the Supreme Court had “set aside the Speaker's order disqualifying 16 MLAs and made observations that any fair-minded person will know are very strong strictures.”
Meanwhile, the dismissal of the Bhardwaj report, received with great jubilation by the BJP, has disappointed the Congress' Karnataka unit, which had been lobbying hard for the dismissal of the government. However, Congress sources here said that Mr. Chidambaram's detailed revelations about the Governor's unflattering report about the government, and the fact that an advisory was being issued should give boost the State unit's campaign against the BJP and the Yeddyurappa government.
Indeed, Mr. Tewari said he categorically rejected suggestions that the recent events in Karnataka had put the Congress “on the back foot.” On the contrary, “recent events have demonstrated that corruption, anarchy and subversion of democracy prevail in Karnataka,” he said.
