Overall Scenario turns from Bad to Worse

EDITORIAL

As the Karnataka drama continues and there are as yet no visible signs of it coming to an immediate end since the State Assembly Speaker has not indicated that even after 10 MLAs of the ruling coalition having met him today and resubmitted their resignation from the legislature he would accept those any time soon, the prospects of an early solution to the crisis appears to be remote at the moment. The possibilities of the Kumaraswamy Government resigning at this hour also appears to be bleak and it seems the stalwarts of the Congress-JD(S) alliance would fight to the last and face the confidence motion in the Assembly come what may.

This being the background, public opinion in the State and the country at large is gradually veering round to the conclusion that the MLAs who resigned from the Assembly did not do so voluntarily but under compulsion of pressure and inducement (primarily monetary) and it is incumbent to put an end to such unsavoury behaviour on the part of the legislators. The role of the ruling party at the Centre in this whole drama needs to be analysed in depth in this context and the allegation of the Congress that large scale horse-trading was carried out by the BJP to bring down the State Government must be taken seriously.

At the same time, against this backdrop the issue of early resolution of the problem of the Congress leadership following the July 3 letter of Congress President Rahul Gandhi giving a permanent stamp to his decision to step down from the office of the party supremo has once again assumed significance.

While the BJP’s role in the operation to bring down the Karnataka State Government is becoming clearer with the passage of time, the unfolding developments in Goa where as many as 10 of the 15 Congress MLAs have joined the BJP has caused dismay and consternation among all sections of democrats. In this connection observers are of the considered opinion that till the Congress ledership problem remains unresolved these events could multiply as these are linked to the BJP’s, rather Amit Shah’s, attempts to evolve a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’, a unique goal the Modi-Shah duo has set before them to be achieved as soon as possible. [It needs to be underlined that even at the height of the popular Congress governments, the ruling party never sought to bring about a ‘BJP-mukt Bharat’. This is just to highlight the contrast between the BJP in power today and the Congress governments of the past.]

We have already brought into focus the spate of lynchings that took place since the BJP assumed power for the second time in May. Today under the directive of the persons in power in South Block, CBI raids have been conducted at the homes and offices of distinguished legal personalities—Indira Jaisingh and Anand Grover—in Delhi and Mumbai. These need to be unequivocally condemned by secular democrats as these legal personalities are well-known defenders of human rights that are under constant attack under the present regime at the Centre.

The overall scenario is gradually turning from bad to worse with every passing day since the outcome of the parliamentary polls two months ago.

July 11 S.C.