JOIN USCentre rules out recall of Governor
"There is no question of recalling the governor,” Home Minister P Chidambaram told a press conference here when asked about the call for removing Bhardwaj after he recently recommended that President’s rule be imposed on the State while keeping the Assembly in suspended animation.
The home minister said the Centre will issue advisory to the Karnataka government on Tuesday on the basis of the governor’s report. On Bhardwaj’s recommendations, Chidambaram said the “governor performed his duty and we took our decision.”
Chidambaram said advisories are issued to state governments from time to time, like at the time of the attacks on minorities in Karnataka and on the issue of armed camps in West Bengal. He said the issues raised by the governor are of grave concern.
Yeddyurappa had demanded “the immediate recall” of Bhardwaj. Yeddyurappa held consultations with L K Advani, BJP President Nitin Gadkari and senior leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley here on Monday.
Asked whether the Centre has given him any assurance on the possibility of recalling the controversial governor, the chief minister said, “Next time when I meet the prime minister and the home minister, I will request them.”
BSY to meet PM
According to informed sources, the chief minister is expected to be here after a week when the prime minister returns from his foreign tour.
Yeddyurappa, however, complimented Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on rejecting the governor’s report.
Asked whether the 11 BJP “rebel MLAs” were happy to be in the BJP, the chief minister said they “are with the party and there is no problem” on that count.
Though the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) on Sunday rejected the state governor’s recommendations, the Centre seems to be in no mood to heed Yeddyurappa’s call for removing Bhardwaj.
Chidambaram, however, said the Centre did not find grounds to dismiss the Yeddyurappa ministry and impose President's rule on Karnataka as sought by Bhardwaj. “We are mindful of the legal position. The power to impose President’s rule is very restricted. And we think that the facts placed before the CCPA did not enable us to reach the conclusion that the condition of (Article) 356 (of the Constitution) are attracted,” the home minister said.
Bhardwaj had recommended President's rule in the wake of the Supreme Court restoring the membership of 11 BJP rebel legislators and five Independents.The 16 had been disqualified ahead of a trust vote in the assembly last October, which Yeddyurappa won in a House of reduced strength.
Yeddyurappa parried a question on the Centre sending an advisory to the state government. On the Congress comment at the United Progressive Alliance’s dinner on Sunday about “corruption” in Karnataka , the chief minister retorted that the “entire country knows what is happening at the Centre.”