There is public dismay and anger at the irrational turn that the quarrel between Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has taken, if The Hindu 's sampling of public opinion in the city is any indication.
For the Chief Minister to issue a personal challenge through a press advertisement — at the tax payer's expense — asking Mr. Kumaraswamy to repeat a set of allegations under oath before a deity in a place of worship, and for Mr. Kumaraswamy to accept it, surely speaks of the erosion of reason and the spirit of science that Bangalore — a leader in science and infotech — has always upheld.
The trading of corruption allegations between the two public figures that has appeared in the media over the last several months has escalated in tone and tenor in the last month with Mr. Kumaraswamy stepping up the pressure on the Chief Minister by releasing a flood of documents that allegedly establishes his involvement in corrupt practices.
Inducements charge
Recently, Mr. Kumaraswamy told presspersons that the Chief Minister had tried to arrange a meeting with him to buy his silence with the offer of inducements. He even offered to release the cellphone call details between himself and BJP MLC Lehar Singh, Mr. Yeddyurappa's close aide. It was this that led the Chief Minister to take a decision unprecedented in the State's political history. He issued an open letter to Mr. Kumaraswamy challenging him “to stick to your stand by taking an oath in front of the Almighty Lord Manjunatha Swamy of Dharmasthala.” He also accused him of “hit and run” tactics, and of acting like a “coward,” by not substantiating his allegations.
For many of the respondents to Public Eye 's questions, the Chief Minister, through his actions, has chosen to bypass constitutional redressal forums, notably the courts and the Legislature.
‘Unconstitutional'
Ravivarma Kumar, former Chairman of the Backward Classes Commission, told The Hindu that the proper legal recourse for Mr. Yeddyurappa was to file for defamation. “For him to ask anybody to swear in the name of a particular religious deity is wholly unconstitutional,” he said. “As a Chief Minister, he has a special privilege to prosecute without even filing a private complaint to protect his ‘right to reputation'. He can do this through the public prosecutor, or even sue the publications that have carried the allegations,” he said.
Bad precedent
Further, as many legal experts have pointed out, his action would only legitimise and strengthen different forms of extra-constitutional authority. Husbands could then divorce their wives before a deity, criminal cases could be “settled” in a place of worship, and cases pertaining to conflicts over land could be adjudicated in a temple. Indeed, in the letter sent to Kannada dailies Mr. Yeddyurappa stated that he is using this form of dispute resolution because it “takes a long time if we approach the courts”.
Though the Chief Minister hoped to end the war of words between him and Mr. Kumaraswamy, it would appear that the fracas between the two former political allies is only deepening. The city will, meanwhile, watch for June 27 with interest.
