Game not over yet
Projecting it as a political imbroglio, Yeddyurappa can always wonder whether he created his own ditch or fell into one dug by someone else. He probably expected Supreme Court too will give him a long time frame to prove majority on the floor of the house just like the governor gave two weeks. He may have trusted Amit Shah to get him a ruling in his favour from the Supreme Court. Or, so did the Reddy gang assure him. Supreme Court’s decision to prove majority within 55 hours of time since he took oath, must have come as a shocker to him. All the released audio clippings of the failed attempts of ‘horse trade’ revealed the last ditch attempts made to hold up the party’s image in south India failed.
The same people who were contacted to be ‘bought over’, released the audio clips of the deals they were presented. Yeddyurappa said on the floor: “Cong and JD(S) kept their MLAs together, hence we are unable to prove the majority.” This must be the heights of helplessness.
With all the MLAs in the house, why could he not seek the trust vote? Who would have stopped him? Yeddyurappa in other words, said he and his party didn’t get a proper opportunity for horse trading! He tried to project himself on the same lines as Vajpayee and wanted people to perceive his failure to secure a government as sympathetically as they can. But that doesn’t seem to have worked.
Fact remains that the leaders within the BJP were celebrating Yeddyurappa’s downfall. He fell into the pit dug by RSS and is now standing at the last chapter of his political career.
Now it needs to be seen how inevitable Yeddyurappa is going to be, for BJP from here on. They cannot even keep him away completely because the party has done well under his leadership. Now this thorn called Yeddyurappa is stuck in BJP’s throat, and cannot be removed without hurting yet. Though BJP wants to handover the reins to Santoshji of RSS, the occasion does not seem appropriate yet. He may well be relegated to history soon, but he still wields power within the community. But that will happen soon, if not sooner.
After that, BJP will fall into the hands of staunch Hindutva elements. One cannot comment on whether or not this would be beneficial for BJP. While we say this, we cannot even be sure of this Cong-JD(S) coalition government lasting any longer. Though the attempts for horse-trading has failed for now, it is not completely wiped out yet. It may occur in the near future if any of the disgruntled MLAs defect into the other side. This inevitable coalition, is much necessary for Cong and JD(S). Hence Cong immediately got in touch with JD(S) to form the government and hand over the CM’s chair to Kumaraswamy of JD(S). If Cong had got majority on its own, Siddaramaiah may have been the second term CM. A few top rung Cong men never wanted this. Now with HDK as CM-nominee, Siddaramaiah has been sidelined in the interest of the party. Parameshwar will be the deputy CM. The overall control of state Congress has moved into the hands of DK Shivakumar, a Cong strongman. So the original Conggressis are happy with this since Siddu was always seen as an outsider. They are still fine with HDK as their CM, but not Siddu. Hence, HDK wields the power with mere 38 seats in the state. Will he be allowed to complete a term of five years as the CM? Will Cong men cooperate with this? Will all the MLAs withstand the temptation of ‘deals’ that could be presented by BJP in the future?
With all this, even if the coalition lasts for a year or two, it would have its impact on Lok Sabha elections. JD(S) and Cong together can serve a grand defeat to BJP in 2019. Both JD(S) and Cong have massive responsibilities resting on their shoulders. They need to be in support of each other to complement and not to pull each other down. Cong has shown its 78 seats need not pose ego before the JD(S) with mere 38 seats. Together they can face biggest enemies of democracy. If both parties resort to their pettiness, the government will collapse and it becomes easy for BJP to gain traction. The parties then will have to bear with the curse of having handed over the state to communalists.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
