By IANS
New Delhi/Bangalore : Karnataka was Tuesday placed under president’s rule again, less than a fortnight after it was revoked, with President Pratibha Patil signing the decree after the central cabinet recommended it.
People in the state capital greeted the announcement with relief, while politicians there went into separate huddles.
The government will bring a resolution before parliament Wednesday to ratify president’s rule and then seek dissolution of the state assembly, which means Karnataka is heading for early polls.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told the media Tuesday evening: “I have learnt that President Pratibha Patil has signed the proclamation imposing president’s rule in Karnataka.
“Tomorrow we are going to bring in parliament a resolution seeking to ratify president’s rule in the state and immediately thereafter the government will go for dissolution of the state assembly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda, whose party’s machinations led to the political upheaval in Karnataka, Tuesday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the re-imposition of president’s rule and prospects of dissolution of the state assembly.
The former prime minister told newspersons here: “The BJP did not cooperate with us.”
However, the Congress welcomed the move to dissolve the assembly.
Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said that the central government, the Congress and even “some United Progressive Alliance partners” were of the view that the state assembly should be dissolved. “We wanted to ensure that no charge of impropriety is levelled against us.”
Welcoming president’s rule, he said: “Right from the beginning the BJP was aware of the 12-point demands’ charter put up by the JD-S (in order to support a BJP-led government), and yet they descended in full force in Bangalore and anointed B.S. Yeddyurappa (as chief minister), all because of their lust for power.”
In Bangalore, JD-S legislators met in separate groups Tuesday to assess the fallout of the party’s decision to pull down the BJP-led government, while angry BJP leaders spent the day charting plans to capitalise on possible public sympathy.
The majority of the 51 JD-S legislators had been opposed to pulling down the government as they did not want early polls. They obeyed the Gowdas under the impression that a Congress-JD-S coalition was going to come to power, and were shocked to hear the centre had decided to recommend dissolution of the assembly.
“We will decide out future course of action after hearing from Deve Gowda on his return from New Delhi,” one JD-S legislator said.
Realising that the majority of party legislators were angry at his father’s decision to pull down the BJP-led ministry, former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy talked to several of them and tried to assuage their feelings.
“We have many, many issues to take to the people. We will finalise our plans soon,” state BJP president D.V. Sadananda Gowda told reporters.
Chief of the Coingress’ state unit Mallikharjun Kharge welcomed the decision to impose president’s rule and recommend dissolution of the assembly. “We have been demanding early elections. We do not want to go with JD-S again,” he told reporters.
There was widespread relief outside the political circles in Karnataka following the decision to impose president’s rule and recommend dissolution of the assembly. Most people felt the state had become a laughing-stock due to the long political farce enacted there.
“I think the image of Karnataka and Bangalore has certainly taken a beating due to the political instability in the state. Wherever we travel in India, people laugh at us. We are made to feel small nowadays,” said T.V. Mohandas Pai, Infosys Technologies Ltd board member and director of HR, education, research and administration.
“The political instability and fall of three governments in 41 months has severely affected the economic development of the state and the growth of Bangalore,” Pai said. “Investment flow has declined over the last two-three years. The image of Bangalore is sinking due to stagnant growth of its infrastructure.”
President’s rule was first imposed in Karnataka on Oct 10 after then chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD-S resigned when coalition partner BJP withdrew support to his 20-month-old government.
On Oct 24, Deve Gowda wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pleading with him to dissolve the assembly on the ground that none of the three parties — Congress, BJP or JD-S — had a majority of their own and since none of the parties was willing to support the other, the state assembly should be dissolved.
But on Oct 27, the JD-S made an about turn and offered support to the BJP. President’s rule was revoked on Nov 8 and on Nov 12 Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the first BJP chief minister of a southern state.
He resigned Monday, exactly a week later, just before moving a confidence motion in the assembly, because of the refusal of alliance partner JD-S to support his government.