The shortest 24 hours!
No drama can have an eternal thrill like politics and the scenes in Karnataka are no exception. The hair-raising fight scenes had shifted to the Supreme Court on midnight of Wednesday when the lordships sat until the dawn break to hear a legal challenge thrown by Congress to stay the swearing-in of Yeddyurappa as the state’s Chief Minister.
Though the SC declined to interfere with the governor’s action of inviting Yeddyurappa, it decided to deliver its final order on Friday at 10.30 am merely a day’s reprieve for BJP. The swearing-in would be held at the Raj Bhavan at 9 AM, a few minutes from now.
It’s not going to be all rose walk for BJP when it had a comfortable 15 days’ time provided by the Governor to prove the majority on the floor of the house, now shrunk by just a day. The court though asked for letters of support from MLAs and previous communications between Yeddyurappa and the governor, may or may not, interfere with the 15 days’ notice period, suspense which would be clear only tomorrow.
Congress and JDS are jubilant, for they can hold their respective flock together for a day, which might have been difficult for 15 days, by which time the effect of allurements would have percolated into the blood of a greedy few, caged in resorts.
Ordinary citizens of India and Karnataka watch in amazement the feverish urge of the politicians to serve the nation and humanity, and the extent they can go to achieve the same. As the swearing-in preparations or on, the BJP minders of Karnataka or already in Raj Bhavan, their faces neither euphoric or jubilant, weighed down by the ticking clock.
Will Yeddyurappa become the shortest served Chief Minister ever? Over to your Lordships tomorrow, until then the soap-opera is on!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix
