The political farce in Karnataka

The resignation of B S Yedyurappa as the Chief Minister of Karnataka exposes the dubious and blatantly partisan role played by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala. Yedyurappa was invited by the Governor to form the government despite not having the requisite majority, which clearly indicates that the Governor had acted at the behest of the BJP’s central leadership.This incident reinforces the fact that the Governors of the state are political appointees who are puppets in the hand of the High Command. The office of Governor has been time and again devalued and disgraced by such partisan actions of the Governors.

But the BJP is not the only one to be blamed for this sorry state of affairs, the Congress party is very much responsible for bringing things to such a pass. The Congress party is now reaping the bitter fruits of the seeds it has sown in the past, and for the BJP, the fruits of the seeds sown by the Congress are sweet now that it is in power, but when the tables are turned, the fruits will turn bitter.

Both the Congress and the BJP are guilty of blatantly misusing the office of Governor to satisfy their lust for power and promote their partisan ends.  The Congress had also misused the office of the President of India to blatantly and arbitrarily dismiss duly elected state governments in the past and to impose Emergency in 1975 under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. In fact, the Congress had effectively established dictatorship under the guise of Emergency. The blatantly motivated and highly partisan actions of political parties have made a mockery of democracy, turning India into a banana republic. The BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi appears to be heading the same way as the Congress, and if it does not mend its ways, it will meet the same fate as the Congress did in 1977.

The sordid drama enacted in Karnataka over the last four days since the results of the assembly polls were declared has once again reinforced the fact that our nation has a long way to go before it achieves the semblance of a democracy that is true both in letter and spirit.  The stock market will not be amused by the Karnataka farce and is likely to show its thumbs down on Monday.