Arun Jaitley asks for recall of Karnataka Governor

NEW DELHI - Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that the political crisis in Karnataka was a creation of State Governor H R Bhardwaj and demanded that the Centre recall him at the earliest.

Talking to reporters here, Jaitley said: “The Governor should be recalled immediately.

Jaitley also criticised the Governor for allowing use of the Raj Bhawan for political purpose.

“The Governor allowed the Raj Bhavan to be used for political purposes. Leader of the Congress, JD(S) and the MLAs who had defied anti-defection law have been virtually operating out of Raj Bhawan,” he said

“He also writes to the Speaker that if he takes action under the anti-defection law, then the verdict of the Assembly will not be acceptable. And, today he wrote to Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, saying the verdict is not acceptable and using words like farcical to term it,” Jaitely pointed out.

All this indicates that the Governor has lost his impartiality. He cannot be the custodian of the Constitution, the Centre should recall him,” Jaitley said.

Earlier in the day, Bhardwaj wrote to Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa asking him to prove his majority again on the floor of the Assembly by 11 a.m. on October 14.

In his letter, Bhardwaj said the trust vote on Monday was improper and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government had failed to prove majority.

Bhardwaj said he was ready to give Yeddyurappa one more chance to demonstrate his majority in Assembly.

Bhardwaj’s fresh move is being seen as one to ease pressure on the Centre before a meeting of the Union Cabinet this evening. The meeting is likely to discuss the Karnataka crisis. (ANI)