Karnataka battle heads north

Karnataka governor HR Bhardwaj got support from the Union government on Saturday for granting sanction to prosecute chief minister BS Yeddyurappa.

This has set the stage for a full-scale Centre-state confrontation and Congress-BJP political battle.

Bhardwaj’s move has the potential to divert public attention from the BJP’s ongoing anti-corruption tirade against the UPA. Chidambaram’s clean chit to the governor’s move, which he said was in accordance with the law, could intensify the oust-Yeddyurappa drive as a counter to the BJP targeting PM Manmohan Singh for alleged scams.

“It is not the first time that a governor has given his sanction to prosecute a chief minister. The law in this respect is clear and well-settled,” Chidambaram said. He also expressed “disappointment” that BJP workers had taken to the streets which he said was “incorrect and totally unacceptable”.

The BJP countered that the governor should have waited for the ongoing investigations to be complete.

In a point-by-point rebuttal to Chidambaram’s statement, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said, “What the home minister has ignored is the explicit observation of the SC that even though the governor can act at his own discretion, the issue of sanction has first to be considered by the council of ministers.” He maintained that only when the guilt is proven should the sanction to prosecute a chief minister be given by the governor.