Will the state witness a rerun of 2008?
Looks like the time of political turmoil of 2008 is probably going to haunt us again. Yeddyurappa, who is now the chief minister of Karnataka and the lone member of his cabinet, took oath to the office of CM, wore the same metaphor of a green shawl around his shoulders as he had done when he became the CM for the first time in 2008. That day, he had 110 seats with him. Today, he has only 104 seats to his party as electoral victory. The shortage of seats to show majority stood at just 3. And to his advantage JD(S) and Congress together hadn’t shown any inclination to form the government. Hence, the party began buying out the MLAs from other quarters. This was hailed as the finest example of political acumen by the majority of the media.
‘Operation Kamala’ thus was seen as a very smart move where an elected representative could be bought over for money or greed of power. This was democracy on sale. While people chose their representatives through votes, BJP could choose the buying price of any MLA through money. It meant, a mandate could be twisted and turned for money. Reddy brothers had played a major role in government formation on that day and hence they could gain control over the government headed by BS Yeddyurappa. As a result, though BSY was the CM, Reddys could run a quasi-government through him or without him. Now it could be an irony of time that the same Reddys who aided BSY’s elevation as CM, were also responsible for his ouster with their blatant misuse of power. People of the state consider the BJP government of that day some sort of a nightmare owing to the fact that the state saw three chief ministers and two deputy chief ministers during the five year tenure. The party that always stood in the opposition could never bring itself to be responsible about the office of the CM and government it had occupied. As a result of this, BJP was decimated in the next round of elections.
Now, the history has repeated itself. Compared to 2008, BJP’s position is even more concerning. This time the party needs over 10 members to ensure the government is stable. More significant development that happened this time around, was the coming together of JD(S) and Congress rather quickly just as the results began to roll out. Congress announced its open support to JD(S) to form the government and JD(S) quickly lapped it up to stake claim on forming the government with its rival-once-partner-now party. Their only agenda was to keep BJP out of power. Hence, Congress with its higher numbers of elected representatives and vote share, didn’t hesitate even once to offer the CM’s post to JD(S) which has only 37 seats. Including Siddaramaiah, all leaders set their differences aside and came together to make Kumaraswamy the Chief Minister. And till such time, the discussion of ‘Dalit CM’ that was in circulation, took a different turn. In this coalition, Dr S Parameshwar will be made the Deputy CM thus ensuring dalits are represented well in this government should it come into existence. Bath parties have informed the governor about their coming together to form the government and that they also have the numbers. But the governor has favoured BJP and invited BSY to form the government. In case of two parties not coming together, had the governor invited BJP, the move would have been appropriate. But what has now happened is that BJP does not have the numbers, and yet they have been called to form the government. Does this not amount to governor indirectly aiding trade of MLAs by giving time and opportunity to BJP? Though the Supreme Court will hear this case again this morning, there is no guarantee that the ruling could be fair. In other states, the example is contrary to that of what has happened in Karnataka. Though other parties were the largest in numbers, BJP and coalition were invited to form the government. The court may consider these examples of subverting of power and democracy by BJP through various offices when the case is presented. But then, it may rule differently too, considering the influence BJP has on several agencies of the government.
All said and done the Reddy brothers who were being designated to some random corner, have now come to the forefront again. Today, an MLA is said to fetch more than 100 cr in the ‘market’ created by the BJP. Why would a party spend more than Rs 500 cr on buying MLAs? And what message does it send about BJP possessing that money even after all the measures they took to curb corruption and black money? The common man stands penniless before ATMs today and all the black money claimed to have been curbed by the BJP seems to have accumulated at one point. It is not difficult to guess who holds all the money now. Horse trading is in progress.
Should the BJP get the numbers and stay put in the office, state will witness days worse than 2008 in the near future.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
