The Karnataka Governor’s decision to invite the single largest party to form the government is not appropriate (“BJP invited to form govt., Cong. moves SC”, May 17). The Governor should use the powers vested in him to find a long-term solution; in this case, there seems to be no such solution in sight with the party short of a majority. The post-poll alliance of the JD(S) and the Congress is opportunistic, but in the prevailing circumstances, their combined strength is well over the halfway mark. This glaring inadequacy on the Governor’s part has invited a lot of avoidable criticism.
Suryanarayanan S.,
Chennai
How can a party that is eight seats short of the majority prove its majority without indulging in horse-trading? Why was the BJP given 15 days to prove its majority? If the Congress and the JD(S) keep a tight leash on their MLAs, and the BJP is unable to prove its majority, the government will be in power for only 15 days. However, in politics anything can happen because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It will be a shame if MLAs offer themselves for a price.
V.S. Jayaraman,
Chennai
Those who criticise the Karnataka Governor for his decision may be correct but the Congress’s decision to ally with the JD(S) is also not morally correct as both these parties contested the elections independently but came together after the results were announced. What the Congress offered was also an inducement of sorts. Inducements cannot be avoided if there’s a fractured verdict. Hung Assemblies are not new, but to avoid the role of money power, there should be a law laid down to avoid different interpretations in such circumstances.
Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,
Hyderabad
Pampering certain castes and communities and pitting one group against another not only violates the idea of secularism but creates divisions in society when aggrieved sections retort by fiercely embracing their caste or religious identities (“How the Congress stumbled”, May 17). They reward or punish parties based on whether they are treated as equals or as second-class citizens. This is what happened in the case of the Lingayats.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram
While the writer’s sympathies seem to lie with the Congress, it is unbecoming of someone of his stature to liken BJP president Amit Shah to an invader.
R. Muralidharan,
Trichy
In Manipur, even when the Congress emerged as the single largest party, the BJP went on to form the government. Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla said then that it was her responsibility as the Governor to measure stability. How did this change in Karnataka’s case when two parties stitched together a post-poll alliance? Democracy is in great danger as money and muscle power are being used to manipulate the mandate of the people.
Tala B. Ragunath,
Thanjavur
People elect politicians hoping that something good will come of it, but in reality everyone is busy trying to grab power, irrespective of whether they won or lost. People then begin to wonder what is the point of voting. Politics has became a business to earn money rather than to serve the people. The situation in Karnataka speaks volumes.
Varun Padmanabhan,
Erode
