GOVERNOR OF KARNATAKA OR BJP’S MAN FRIDAY?

Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala administering oath to Yeddyurappa (Pix courtesy India.com)

Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala not only made a mockery of himself, but insulted the constitution as well by inviting Yeddyurappa to form a minority government brushing aside the claims of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) which entered into a post-poll alliance to form a government following a hung assembly. He further lowered his image by giving Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove majority on the floor of the house, giving him enough time to engage in horse-trading. His actions proved that he was not worthy of the post of the governor as his action was biased towards a party he belonged to in the past, namely, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Was his decision prompted by the fact that he owed his present stint as governor of the state to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah? So, he thought of paying it back to them by inviting Yeddyurappa to form the next government even though the latter did not have the sufficient numbers. Was he so naive to believe that his unconstitutional action would pass the test of the law? 

As expected, the country’s highest court intervened and cut down the 15-day period to just one day so that Yeddyurappa and his team could not engineer coup in the opposition camp either through purchasing votes or pressuring some of the newly elected MLAs to abstain during voting.

And when the moment of truth came, Yeddyurappa chickened out. Realising that his two-day government would not pass the test on the floor of the assembly, he resigned paving the way for the formation of a government led by JDS state chief H D Kumaraswamy, who has the support of the Congress party. 

It must be interesting to note that Yeddyurappa has never completed his full five-year term even though this was his third shot at the chief ministership of Karnataka. The first time when he became chief minister was in 2007 when he ruled for just seven days when the BJP’s then coalition partner JD (S) withdrew support. He became chief minister for the second time in 2008, but his stint lasted 39 months before he was arrested on corruption charges.

Now that Yeddyurappa’s fate has been sealed, the pertinent question is whether Governor Vajubhai Vala acted on his own! With such a long legislative experience in Gujarat, it is unlikely that he would not have thought about the repercussions of his action. Or was he coerced by the BJP which had anointed him to the coveted post? The suspicion is bound to be raised as of late the actions of several BJP-appointed governors have come under scrutiny.

There is no doubt that the Karnataka governor has caused immense damage to the dignity of the constitutional post he holds. If Mr. Vala wants to absolve himself of the sin, he should quit immediately maintaining the dignity of a governor.