23 May,2011 06:07 AM IST | | B V Shiva Shankar
The Congress and the BJP have reportedly come to a tacit understanding to save the government. Sources say The saffron party may have to either dismiss speaker K G Bopiah or dislodge the CM to continue its rule in the state
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JD(S) boss H D Deve Gowda, who has been plotting to oust the B S Yeddyurappa government, was left in lurch with the Congress and the BJP reportedly coming to a tacit understanding to save the government in return of certain conditions, including changing speaker K G Bopiah, if not displacing the Chief Minister.
MiD DAY had carried a report stating that the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) was considering the option of issuing a warning and letting off the Yeddyurappa government.
The warning might have come in the form of advisory and the BJP insiders feared it might pave the way for the Congress to trouble the Yeddyurappa government in the future.
According to highly placed sources, the Central Cabinet Committee for Political Affairs met late last night after a dinner organised to celebrate UPA's completion of two years in office at the centre.
During the meeting, it was decided to reject the governor's recommendation to dismiss BJP government in Karnataka in the wake of the SC verdict quashing the disqualification of 16 rebel MLAs, and the critical observation made against speaker K G Bopiah for disqualifying them.
Bopiah had disqualified the legislators after they wrote to Governor H R Bhardwaj, taking back their support to Yeddyurappa government in October last year, following which the CM sought a trust vote twice in a gap of two days, keeping the disqualified MLAs out of the house.
While the HC upheld the disqualification, the SC quashed it on May 13 this year, after which they appealed against the HC decision.
"After carefully considering the report sent by the Governor, CCPA decided not to accept the recommendation to dismiss the government," P Chidambaram, Union Home Minister, who attended the meeting told reporters informally.
He said the ministry of home affairs would send an advisory to the state government on the same, while he refused to divulge the details of the advisory.
According to sources, while the advisory was only a formality, actual condition is to change the speaker and the CM.
"The UPA government offered a formula to the BJP to change the speaker and the CM in Karnataka. While the BJP leaders are not ready to take up the bargain, it is still going on behind the curtain," said a senior Congress leader.
Fast forward
Amidst speculations, Yeddyurappa, who was attending a protest rally against the Governor Bhardwaj in Mangalore, rushed to Delhi to meet the high command of his party to discuss the future course of action in the eventualities.
"The CM's Delhi tour was not scheduled. He was slightly nervous when he got the updates on the developments in Delhi and decided to immediately leave for the capital after the call came," said a close confidant of his.
Although, Yeddyurappa's position is apparently safe, a section of the BJP high command is understood to be putting pressure on him to step down. However, sources said the party high command was seriously considering changing the speaker.
While BJP cadres are jubilant over the developments, the party insiders said the game was not yet over with Yeddyurappa threatening to split the party in case he is asked to resign.
Super Hit formula
As Gowda hatched the plot, the Union government offered the BJP a compromise formula, according to which Yeddyurappa and speaker Bopiah had to step down to save the state government.
Gowda is understood to have set a trap through this formula to catch the CM on the wrong foot, while dividing the BJP on the issue as Yeddyurappa had already threatened to break the party if he forced to resign.
Yeddyurappa arrived in the capital past midnight and expressed his happiness over UPA's decision to reject the Governor's report
Getting wind of Gowda's design, the BJP leaders are understood to have rejected the formula. "It's true that they had asked us to remove the speaker and the CM.
We could not do it because it was a part of Gowda's evil design and there is no case for the resignation of the CM or the speaker," said K S Eswarappa, state president of BJP.
"However, I must admire the UPA government for taking the right step to reject the Governor's report and upholding the principles of democracy," he added.
Chalo Delhi!
Yeddyurappa arrived in the capital past midnight and expressed his happiness over UPA's decision to reject the Governor's report. He also congratulated Prime Minister Ma n Mohan Singh and Union Home Ministeru00a0 P Chidambaram for upholding democracy. On advisory to be issue by Central government to his governed, Yeddyurappa said he was not informed about the same by the Central government.
