BJP asks Manmohan Singh to recall Karnataka Governor Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI - A delegation led by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and asked him to recall Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj for failing to act impartially in the State political crisis.

Talking to reporters after meeting, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said: “Today we met the Prime Minister in the leadership of Advaniji. We have submitted a detailed memorandum. The talks were only regarding the Governor of Karnataka.”

“We have demanded that Bhardwaj should be recalled immediately,” e added

“The Governor recommended President’s rule soon after trust vote, then overruled it the next day without giving any explanation,” he said.

“Is there any constitutional explanation to this, to the utterance that he was bestowing charity on the Chief Minister by offering a second chance at the trust vote?” he asked

Neither his action nor language is consonant with the dignity of a Constitutional office,” Jaitley said.

Jaitley further said the party agreed to a second trust vote “to avoid constitutional confrontations rather than precipitate them.

Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has expressed his readiness to undergo the Vote of Confidence in the State Assembly on October 14 as directed by the Governor.

Bhardwaj had earlier written to 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 BJP Government had failed to prove majority.

On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court had adjourned the hearing in a case related to disqualification of 16 MLAs by the Karnataka State Assembly Speaker, till Monday.

The High Court’s Bench comprising Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice N Kumar adjourned the hearing after arguments were concluded on behalf of 11 BJP MLAs and orders were reserved on their petition.

They were disqualified hours before the controversial trust vote won by the Yeddyurappa Government in the Assembly on Monday.

The disqualification of the MLAs had brought down the strength of the 224-member Assembly to 208. (ANI)