Governor okays CM prosecution

The governor has accorded permission under Section 19 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, for prosecuting Yeddyurappa in an appropriate court of law for various grave allegations of corruption and criminal misconduct.

Two advocates, Sirajin Basha and K N Balaraj, on December 28, last year, petitioned the governor seeking his sanction to prosecute Yeddyurappa. The chief minister and his men had made several attempts in vain to pre-empt the governor from giving his nod.The petitioners’ allegations pertain to land scams, nepotism, corruption and manipulation of rules and regulations regarding acquisition and denotifying of public land.

The petitioners had also sought permission to prosecute Home Minister R Ashoka. The governor will look into it separately. A communique from Raj Bhavan only mentioned about the sanction to prosecute Yeddyurappa but there was no reference to Ashoka.

The chief minister had been arguing that the allegations of land scams, including site allotment and denotification of public land, were baseless. At the same time, he has referred the allegations to the Justice Padmaraj Commission of Inquiry. Certain allegations against Yeddyurappa are also being probed by the Lokayukta.

This is the first time in the history of Karnataka that a governor has given permission to prosecute a chief minister. Prosecution means trying a criminal complaint by a designated court.  Soon after receiving the governor’s communique, Yeddyurappa declared that the governor’s decision was arbitrary, partisan, biased and unconstitutional. The BJP leaders cried foul over the governor’s decision and termed it a murder of democracy. BJP national leader Dharmendra Pradhan, in-charge of Karnataka, and BJP state unit president K S Eshwarappa said Yeddyurappa will not demit office. The decision of the governor will be questioned in a court of law, Pradhan added. The BJP had been arguing that the governor had no authority to accord sanction. But Bhardwaj, in his letter to Yeddyurappa, on Friday quoted a Supreme Court order relating to a Madhya Pradesh case and asserted that a governor is entitled to take an independent decision in such cases.
Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar argued that the governor’s sanction is invalid.

Advocate Sirajin Basha said he will file a case against the chief minister in the sessions court by Monday.

What Yeddyurappa may do...
*  He may recommend House dissolution after budget
*  He may remain in office even if party asks him to go
*  He may try get a stay for the governor’s sanction order
*  He may try for a stay against prosecution in court
*  He may remain cool and face trial in court
*  He may persuade the two petitioners against pursuing the case
*  He may resign owning moral responsibility & save party from embarrassment 

Public transport not to be affected
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), auto rickshaw unions and rail services will all function normally on Saturday, DHNS reports from Bangalore.
BMTC chief traffic officer Vishwanath said: “All BMTC buses will ply on Saturday unless we confront an adverse situation.” Similarly auto unions said there has been no decision to withdraw autos off the road owing to the bundh and that auto will go off only in case of  violence. The South Western Railways PRO said all trains scheduled from stations in the City and those expected to arrive will not be affected.