Janata Dal (S)'sduplicity in reneging on the straightforward power sharing agreement in Karnataka marks a new low in political morality. It is a betrayal of the worst kind. The party had no pangs of conscience while ditching the Congress-led Government after sharing power with it for 20 long months. ?Secularism? was no issue then. After enjoying power with the help of the BJP that was the single largest party in the Assembly for another 20 months, this JD(S) wants the people to believe that its immoral action in refusing to transfer power to its partner is prompted by its commitment to ?secularism?.
No one believes JD (S)'sclaim that its commitment is to save the state from ?communalism?, nor are there any takers for its assertion that state would be converted into ?laboratory of Hindutava? (whatever it may mean) if a BJP man takes over as Chief Minister. How come, H.D. Kumaraswamy did not factor the alleged communalism of BJP when he staged a ?revolt? against his father to join hands with the saffron party? Its spurious assertions run in the face of the party leaders? earlier statements in which they complimented the coalition for its commitment to communal harmony. BJP'scommitment to Hindutava is not a new phenomenon to which the JD (S) has suddenly woken up. It is not the father-son duo'scommitment to ?secularism? that prompted them to deceive but it was an act of sheer political expediency and their insatiable hunger for power.
The popular mandate in 2004 assembly elections were certainly against the Congress whose strength in the Assembly came down by half but it was undoubtedly a split mandate. JD(S) joined hands with the Congress ? the party rejected by the voters ? to keep the ?communal? BJP at bay. In no time, it lost interest in protecting ?secularism? and deserted the Congress to share power with the BJP. Kumaraswamy had no problem with BJP's?communal? agenda till he was the Chief Minister but he is now horrified at the ?dire consequences? of BJP heading the coalition government. The father-son duo won'tbe affected by the saffron party's?communal? overtones if Kumarswamy is allowed to run the Government for the remaining period of the assembly'stenure. ?Politics is nothing but opportunism? is a shameless confession publicly made by Kumaraswamy as an explanation for his inexplicable misdeed. His actions and assertions have brought down the entire political class in public esteem. He blames his ally for starting a pubic debate over power transfer 10 months before the deadline. Will he tell the people why he and his father made countless statements saying the agreement might not be adhered to? Who created doubts in public mind about the longevity of the alliance by making statements amounting to JD (S) reluctance to transfer power as per the agreement? Kumarswamy'scharge against the BJP that the latter didn'tcreate an atmosphere of trust without which transfer of power was not possible is laughable. Is it only BJP'sduty to create an atmosphere of trust or was it for the Chief Minister to have trust in an alliance partner that had shown immense trust ? though misplaced ? in the JD (S) by agreeing to the smaller party heading the coalition for the first 20 months.
Coalition dharma is now an integral part of Indian political scene, as split verdicts have become the norm rather than an exception. Certain parties have shown the maturity to follow the norms to run alliances. Although it had suffered at the hands of its allies more often than not, BJP can claim credit for following the coalition dharma.
Giving a new twist to the murky developments in Karnataka, JD (S) staged yet another political tamasha by offering to lend support to former Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa of the BJP to head the Government for the next 20 months. It did this after the Governor declined to give Kumaraswamy time till October 18 to prove his majority on the floor of the House on the premise that there was no evidence that he might win a confidence vote. He was advised to resign. There was a virtual revolt in the JD (S) legislature party what with a large number of party MLAs telling Kumarswamy that a mid term poll in the state would prove suicidal for the party. Acknowledging the stark reality, he conveyed to the BJP that he was willing to accept Yediyurappa as Chief Minister. The move fell through as Governor Rameshwar Thakur refused to play along saying he had already recommended the dissolution of the Assembly and imposition of President'srule. Not surprisingly, the national leadership of the BJP was not willing to take the bait. The stage is now set for the people of Karnataka to decide who should rule the State for the next five year.
A split verdict is bound to hurt the state, its economy and countless projects launched during recent years. A clear mandate will go a long way in teaching a lesson to treacherous and amoral parties. An early poll will benefit the BJP because of the sympathy wave generated by JD (S)'santics. However, the timing of the elections will largely depend on Congress party'selectoral calculations. It would not be wrong to presume that the Congress would prefer Karnataka elections to be held simultaneously with parliamentary elections expected early next year.
