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Rediff.com  » News » Yeddyurappa parades 114 MLAs, demands Governor's recall

Yeddyurappa parades 114 MLAs, demands Governor's recall

By Vivky Nanjappa
Last updated on: May 17, 2011 20:16 IST
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In a bid to counter the action of Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj, the state Bharatiya Janata Party led by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and party President Nitin Gadkari paraded 114 members of Parliament before President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New DelhiĀ on Tuesday.

The exercise was undertaken to prove that the Yeddyurappa government enjoyed the support of a majority of the MLAs.

"The BJP will do the same thing on Wednesday in front of the Raj Bhavan in Bangalore. Interestingly, no memorandum would be submitted to Governor H R Bhardwaj," said a source.

The Karnataka BJP would however have to wait another day to find out the fate of their government, since the Union Cabinet is scheduled to meet only on Wednesday.

The Cabinet committee had decided on Monday to let the Cabinet decide on the matter, since there was a division of opinion on the Governor's report. The Cabinet is expected to meet on Wednesday in the backdrop of the assurance given by the prime minister that they would not act unconstitutionally on this matter.

The state BJP leaders led by Yeddyurappa and senior leader Venkaiah Naidu paraded 114 MLAs before the President. The magic number required to prove their majority in Karnataka is 113.

The BJP however claims to have the support of 121 MLAs. A source said that the rest could not make it due to personal engagements.

The entourage also submitted a six-page memorandum to the President, demanding the immediate recall of the Governor. The BJP stated that ever since his appointment in Karnataka, the Governor has been trying to destabilise their government.

"We are constrained to strongly urge Your Excellency, the President of India to urgently recall the services of Shri H R Bhardwaj as Governor of Karnataka, in the true spirit of our Constitution and our federal framework," Yeddyurappa said in the memorandum.

Gadkari said that the President assured them that she would look into it.

"The Governor has acted arbitrarily and recommended the imposition of President's Rule when there was no ground to do so," said a party member.

The BJP also demanded that the recommendation of the Governor not be acted upon, since the government has not acted unconstitutionally. Following the Supreme Court's verdict, the 11 disqualified rebels came back to the BJP's fold, and have even extended their support to the government.

"Moreover, the claim that the government has been reduced to a minority is false since the BJP has 121 MLAs -- 8 more than the required number on the floor of the house," said the source.

Earlier, Yeddyurappa had claimed that the opposition in Karnataka, along with the Governor was trying to get rid of his government illegally.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari, said that the Congress has realised that it was not possible to defeat the BJP, and hence they have resorted to such measures.

"The report of the Governor itself is unconstitutional, and hence the Union government would do well to not accept it," he added.

Among others who accompanied the delegation included Mrs Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, former BJP president Venkaiah Naidu, General Secretary Anant Kumar and S S Ahluwalia.

With inputs from Onkar Singh in New Delhi

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Vivky Nanjappa in Bengaluru
 
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