An inglorious capitulation by the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party to political blackmail by a mining lobby spearheaded by the Reddy brothers has paved the way for a resolution of the Karnataka crisis – for now. The brothers, G. Janardhana Reddy and G. Karunakara Reddy, who are Ministers in the BJP government and claim to have the support of about 50 Members of the Legislative Assembly, made common cause with political discontents having their own ambitions. They got all they wanted – except the removal of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who despite being denuded of his constitutional authority and thoroughly humiliated has been obliged to participate in the farce of a triumphant denouement in New Delhi. Some of the terms of capitulation: upright officials, including the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary V.P. Baligar, have been transferred; Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje, one of the more dynamic faces in the Cabinet against whom no wrongdoing has been established, is to be dropped; the transfer of officials in Bellary and Gadag districts believed to be close to the Reddy brothers will be partially rolled back; the proposal for a tax of Rs. 1,000 per truck-load of iron ore or other minerals will be abandoned; and a core committee headed by Sushma Swaraj and including the Chief Minister as well as the elder Reddy brother, will be constituted. Having used the financial muscle of the brothers to win over independents and engineer defections from other parties last year, and to fight the Lok Sabha election this year, the BJP was in no position to take the moral high ground. On the other side, whatever the shortcomings of the Yeddyurappa government, most recently spotlighted by its handling of the flood crisis, the fact is that it took some steps to check the unrestrained ways and greed of the mining lobby.
What was the honourable course open to the BJP? The party that summarily expelled Jaswant Singh for writing a book on Jinnah should have taken swift, no-nonsense disciplinary action against the Reddy brothers, first by backing their dismissal as Ministers. It should have done a quick appraisal of the views, motivations, and real intent of the MLAs in the rebel camp. It should have made it clear to them that while it was willing to take up the genuine complaints and grievances of those who were unhappy with the style of functioning of the Yeddyurappa government, there was no question of surrendering to political blackmail. Above all, the BJP central leadership should have strengthened the Chief Minister’s hand by making it clear to the rebels that the party was not afraid of going to the people, if need be, by opting for dissolution of the State Assembly. Since most MLAs do not want to face an election at mid-point of the five-year term, a firm, principled stand and swift action would probably have quelled the rebellion. But given a compromised central leadership, there was no question of the ‘party with a difference’ taking anything but the moral low ground.
