The Union Government is mulling over sending advisory to the Yeddyurappa government under Article 355 of the constitution, which would set the stage for dismissal, invoking Article 356 if need arises
The Union Government is mulling over sending advisory to the Yeddyurappa government under Article 355 of the constitution, which would set the stage for dismissal, invoking Article 356 if need arises
With the warning from the Centre set to come in the form of advisory, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is under pressure to change the speaker in the wake of the SC making scathing observations for disqualifying the rebel MLAs before the CM sought trust in October last year.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa flashes victory sign on being welcomed by BJP supporters at the airport
After Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) rejected the Governor's recommendation to dismiss the BJP government in the state on Sunday, the union government is mulling over sending advisory to the Yeddyurappa government under Article 355 of the constitution, which would set the stage for dismissal, invoking Article 356 if need arises.
Coming soon
"The advisory will be issued in a day's time and it will include issues like church attacks, atrocity against minorities, land scams and illegal mining. The advisory is to be issued after taking the Governor's report into consideration," said Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
While it looks like a routine affair, BJP insiders fear the advisory might serve as a preamble to invoke Article 356 to dismiss the government because 'it is being issued under Article 355.'
"While the union government issuing advisories to the state governs is normal, failure of the government to follow the advisory may give scope to invoke Article 356 to dismiss the government," said Ravivermakumar, a constitution expert.
Getting wind of the seriousness of the situation, senior leaders in the BJP are understood to be contemplating a defense strategy, a part of which would be changing the speaker, as it is difficult to get rid of Yeddyurappa at this stage.
'Change speaker'
Arun Jaitley, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, is understood to have discussed this issue with Yeddyurappa when he met him in the capital yesterday. He reportedly suggested changing speaker K G Bopaiah to avoid friction with the Congress in the assembly.
"Jaitley advised Yeddyurappa to consider changing the speaker as he expected stormy scenes in the assembly, with the opposition parties taking on Bopaiah, which he felt would impact negatively on the prospects of the BJP," said source close to Yeddyurappa.
Even a section of Congress leaders are discussing to move a no confidence motion against the speaker in the assembly when session is called on June 2.
"It is possible to move a no confidence motion against Bopaiah in the assembly to register our protest. It will be symbolic, as we know it will be defeated because we don't have numbers," said Congress spokesperson V S Ugrappa.
Indispensable
However, Yeddyurappa made it clear that he was not in favour of replacing Bopiah. "There is no question of changing the speaker, as he has done a commendable job to uphold the principles of democracy,"
he said.
Even if he is changed, it would be blessing in disguise for Bopaiah as the CM, in all probability, will induct him into his cabinet.
Congress is not reliable: H D Kumaraswamy
While Yeddyurappa is jubilant with the turn of events, JD (S) boss H D Deve Gowda is seething.
His anger is targeted at the Congress for having let him down when he tried hard to dislodge the Yeddyurappa government.
"We wanted to protect the interest of democracy, but the Congress has many interests to protect because it is a national party, unlike ours which is a small party," Gowda said.
However, he is privately cursing a section of Congress leaders for having connived with the BJP in sabotaging his plans.
B K Hariprasad, S M Krishna, P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee are among those facing the fury of the patriarch, as they reportedly argued against the dismissal of the Yeddyurappa government.
Gowda's worst fears are that Yeddyurappa would try to smash his party through 'Operation Lotus' once his government is allowed to settle down.
H D Kumaraswamy, Gowda's son and state president of the JD(S), who was camping in Delhi lobbying for the ouster of the government, said, "The episode proved that the Congress is not reliable. We will not bank on the party for our future political plans to take on the BJP."
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