The Centre on Monday assured a delegation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that it would not resort to any “unconstitutional step” on the recommendation of Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj for imposition of President's Rule in the State.
The commitment was made by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram when the delegation led by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and complained about the “partisan and unconstitutional conduct” of Mr. Bhardwaj, urging Dr. Singh to reject his report.
Mr. Advani told journalists outside the Prime Minister's residence that the delegation also demanded the “immediate recall” of Mr. Bhardwaj for repeatedly indulging in ‘unconstitutional' acts.
“We told Dr. Singh that when the Governor makes a recommendation after meeting him and other leaders at the Centre, it raises doubts about the role of the Union government,” Mr. Advani said.
Asked about Dr. Singh's response to the recall demand, he said the Prime Minister gave the delegation a patient hearing.
Mr. Advani announced that all the Karnataka legislators, including the 11 Independents supporting the B.S. Yeddyurappa government, would be paraded before President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, an urgent meeting of NDA leaders held at Mr. Advani's residence strongly condemned Mr. Bhardwaj's action.
“The Governor's conduct is partisan. It is against all constitutional norms and principles. There is absolutely no doubt that the Yeddyurappa government enjoys an overwhelming majority in the Assembly,” senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told journalists.
Mr. Jaitley maintained that as a result of the Supreme Court judgment, the 11 suspended MLAs had been held to be BJP members and were bound by the party whip.
“We shall take all the MLAs supporting the government to the President and demonstrate our strength in front of the Rashtrapati Bhavan since a floor test is no longer required,” he said.
Mr. Jaitley argued that the 11 suspended MLAs had taken back the letter they wrote on October 6, 2010, withdrawing support to the Yeddyurappa government, and that the question of the Karnataka government losing support in the Assembly did not arise.
The NDA has maintained that 121 MLAs support the BJP government in Karnataka, while the Opposition has only 97 in the 225-member Assembly.
Mr. Jaitley criticised Mr. Bhardwaj for not agreeing to Mr. Yeddyurappa's advice to call a special session of the Assembly on Monday.
“The logical course would have been to have a floor test. As long as a government is in majority, the Governor is bound by the Constitution to act as per its advice. Mr. Bhardwaj has acted unconstitutionally in not going by the advice of the Council of Ministers,” Mr. Jaitley said.
