Call him back

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs met on Sunday night and after “carefully considering” the report from Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj,decided not to follow the course of action he had recommended. The BJP government in the state will stay for now. The governor had suggested that it be dismissed,following the verdict from the Supreme Court reinstating 16 MLAs who would have voted against the state government in a floor test had they not been disqualified by the speaker of the Karnataka assembly.

This is a sensible decision by the Centre. To start with,Article 356 should be used sparingly,and only at moments of genuine constitutional breakdown; it is a sign of the maturing of our politics that the frequency with which it is called into play has decreased. But given the blatantly suspicious grounds on which Bhardwaj’s suggestion was made,it must also be asked why this decision was imposed on the Centre in the first place. If the governor of a state — an old Congress loyalist,who claims clout through the impression that he is close to party HQ — cannot be trusted to use the last resort available to him,the recommendation that the state government be dismissed,with sufficient responsibility,is there any purpose in asking him to remain in office? So while the Centre’s call on the governor’s report was right,it is disturbing that the government made such a to-do of “carefully considering” the report. The CCPA even postponed a meeting on Friday so that Sharad Pawar and Dayanidhi Maran could attend.

Bhardwaj has not covered himself in glory in Karnataka,to put it mildly. He had asked the government to be dismissed last year as well; he has put Raj Bhavan on a collision course with the B.S. Yeddyurappa-led ministry; and he has given the national BJP a rallying cry with which it can hope to drown out very serious allegations of corruption against its state unit in Karnataka. The simple truth is that,in this case,an old partyman has shown himself unable to adapt to the requirement that a governor be above the fray,and has instead inserted himself into the state’s politics. That means that his interventions cannot be viewed,even by a Centre led by his own party,as sufficiently unbiased and well-thought out. Under these circumstances,his position becomes untenable. Delhi should recall Bhardwaj.