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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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
