By R. Balashankar
THE UPA government at the Centre stands totally exposed, its intolerance and undemocratic designs challenged, its unconstitutional action under severe scrutiny by the Apex Court. The indefensible actions of the UPA in dissolving the newly elected Bihar Assembly even before it was constituted, the indecent mid-night hurry to prevent the formation of an NDA government ?though Nitish Kumar enjoyed a clear majority support ?has invalidated the actions of the entire UPA establishment.
The main culprit in this macabre midnight coup is the Bihar Governor Buta Singh. His accomplice in this heinous crime are the RJD leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil. Equally despicable were the role of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who went out of the way in ensuring that the RJD is kept in good humour. Even the President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who was away in Russia, when he signed the imposition of President'srule in Bihar in the ungodly hours of May 23, cannot escape the blame.
The Supreme Court ruling on the Bihar Assembly dissolution has left the UPA with more egg on its face. The highest court dismissed as ?unconstitutional? the Centre'smove to dissolve the State Assembly on May 23, on the recommendations of the blatantly political and partisan Governor Buta Singh. Now there is no fig leaf for both the UPA government and Buta Singh to hide behind.
The Bihar is not the first fascist act of the UPA. It started with destabilising the BJP'sManohar Parrikar government in Goa, which too was later challenged in the Supreme Court. Then the same sinister games were played out in Jharkhand. Again, but for the Supreme Court'sdecisive intervention, the Congress and its cohorts would have enacted another mid-summer night'scoup.
The minority government, standing on the crutches of Stalinist communists, has been going too fast, taking decisions having long-term impact on the nation without so much caring for rule, law, ethics and morality. It makes a naked show of pandering to communal interests, divisive forces and kowtowing to the power-hungry comrades.
The Supreme Court'swas a majority order. In view of the preparations, which are already on for the Assembly elections in Bihar, the court decided not to order a ?status quo ante?. In its order it said, ?Despite the unconstitutionality of the proclamation the facts and circumstances of the case at present is not a case where the status quo ante can be restored and the legislative assembly revived.? The five-judge bench headed by Justice Y.K. Sabharwal had justices K.B. Balakrish-nan, B.N. Aggarwal, Ashok Bhan and Ajit Pasayat as members.
Four MLAs of the dissolved assembly ?Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia (BJP), Kishore Kumar Munna (Ind), Rampravesh Rai (JDU) and Dr Anil Kumar (breakway LJP) ?had moved the Apex Court. Their case was that the UPA government was subverting democratic norms at the behest of the RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, the unchivalrous loser.
The NDA'schief ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar following the verdict demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister. ?We stand vindicated… We had said the house was dissolved unconstitutionally and the Supreme Court, too, has accepted our contention,? Nitish Kumar told reporters in Patna.
In the landmark judgment, the five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court held that the presidential order to dissolve the Bihar Assembly was unconstitutional.
In a majority judgment, the bench ordered that the ?status quo ante? cannot be ordered as the electoral process had already been set in motion.
The Bihar is not the first fascist act of the UPA. It started with destabilising the BJP'sManohar Parrikar government in Goa, which too was later challenged in the Supreme Court. Then the same sinister games were played out in Jharkhand. Again, but for the Supreme Court'sdecisive intervention, the Congress and its cohorts would have enacted another mid-summer night'scoup.
Blow to Congress-Comrades? design to make Constitution and Raj Bhawan pawns in political brinkmanship.
The Congress in the company of the Communists has a long tradition of violating and defiling the Constitution. It has blatantly misused the Raj Bhawans for its narrow political gains. The first act of the UPA as soon as it assumed office in May 2004 was to fix Congress men in Raj Bhawans by replacing arbitrarily the inconvenient governors who were appointed by the NDA.
The Supreme Court judgment has come as a slap on the face of the Manmohan Singh government. It has lost its moral right to remain in power. If it has any sense of decency left, it should apologise to the nation, for treading the path of partisan shenanigans to thwart the people'sverdict in State after State and practising the most despicable kind of political apartheid.
The Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary and noted Supreme Court advocate Arun Jaitley welcoming the Apex Court'sdecision said even if the court'sverdict had gone the other way and restored the State Assembly, even then it would have been a win-win situation for the National Democratic Alliance.
Jaitley said that the court had passeed the severest strictures against the State and Central governments and demanded that Bihar Governor Buta Singh be recalled immediately.
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