Bangalore, January 21: It was a swift move that took everyone by surprise. Governor H.R. Bhardwaj’s action in allowing prosecution of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa late Friday comes a day ahead of his own two-day deadline.
The governor had said Thursday that he will make public his decision ‘in two days’. But Bhardwaj made it a ‘fait-accompli’ (done act) Friday night itself.
The BJP had claimed Wednesday that Bhardwaj had ‘categorically’ told Yeddyurappa on Dec 31 that he would allow filing of criminal cases against the chief minister after Republic Day on Jan 26.
On Thursday, Bhardwaj denied he had told Yeddyurappa any such thing.
On Friday too Bhardwaj seemed to contest BJP’s claims on the time frame. In a letter to Yeddyurappa, the governor recalled that on Dec 31 he had only informed that he would have to take a decision on the plea for sanction expeditiously.
Even as BJP Friday stepped up attack on him and threatened to take its case against the governor to President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi on Jan 24 and hold rallies across the state, Bhardwaj quietly went and gave the go-ahead for prosecution.
-Agencies