BJP hunkers down to fight once more

Soon after receiving news of the Governor sending his report to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the party top brass called an emergency meeting here, attended by senior leader L K Advani, Opposition leader in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and others.

The party’s legal luminaries including Arun Jaitley and Soli Sorabjee were also in constant touch with the BJP state leadership, including Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

The party rushed general secretary in charge of Karnataka Dharmendra Pradhan to Bangalore, while Venkaiah Naidu will be reaching Bangalore from Chennai Monday morning. The party has concluded that the Governor’s decision will not stand the scrutiny of courts. “The Governor has been acting as an agent of the Congress party and not as a Constitutional head and therefore his action has a stamp of approval of the Congress,” a senior party leader told Deccan Herald.

The party is looking at the option of bringing all its MLAs to the nation’s Capital to parade before the Rashtrapati Bhavan to show its strength soon. Jaitley attacked the Governor’s report as “unconstitutional” saying it was an “extraordinary recommendation.” He claimed that the BJP had a majority of 121 MLAs in the 224-member House with the return of the rebels.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Governor’s recommendation is “unconstitutional and he has to explain his conduct.”