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The 12 conditions

Although all the major parties in Karnataka — the Congress, the BJP and the JD(S) — are responsible for the situation in the State, the JD(S) should take the major blame. More than once, it has proved that it is an undependable ally. Every day, it seems to be getting new ideas, the latest being the 12 conditions spelt out by its leader, Deve Gowda. The BJP which desperately wants a foothold in the south is prepared to swallow anything, it appears.

P. Maria Lazar,

Nagapattinam

That Mr. Gowda has spelt out 12 conditions for the BJP so that his son H.D. Kumaraswamy can have a major say in decision-making. even while a decision on the BJP’s claim to form a government is awaited, is surprising.

K.S. Jayatheertha,

Bangalore

Hardly a month ago, the JD(S) went back on its undertaking with the BJP to hand over power. Mr. Gowda not only deprived the party of an opportunity to have its Chief Minister but also hurled on it a number of charges. The government had to go and President’s Rule had to be imposed with the Assembly kept under suspended animation.

Mr. Gowda, meanwhile, became apprehensive of the attempts between the Congress and some of the JD(S) legislators to forge ties. He went back to the BJP and has now come up with a list of 12 conditions which is so outrageous that no party can accept it. If the BJP is a party of principles and self-respect, it should go back to the electorate.

K. Venkataraman,

Mumbai

First, Mr. Gowda and his son said they were extending support to the BJP only to save their party. After the BJP staked its claim, Mr. Gowda imposed 12 conditions for government formation. What prevented him from stating the conditions before extending support? Mr. Gowda maintains that his position remains the same as it was on October 24 when he wrote to the President, the Prime Minister, the Governor, and the AICC president requesting quick dissolution of the Assembly.

If he still wants the Assembly to be dissolved, what does his support to the BJP mean? On the one hand, he says he will fight both the Congress and the BJP. But he aligns with both the parties. Public memory is no doubt short but not as short as Mr. Gowda assumes or wants it to be.

Bhavani Shankar,

Bangalore

Mr. Gowda’s pronouncements that the alliance between the JD (S) and the BJP is only a temporary arrangement which will end when elections to the Lok Sabha are announced, and that the JD(S) has joined hands with the BJP only to save itself from poaching reflect rank opportunism. It is a pity that the BJP, in its desperation to have its first Chief Minister in south India, has not learnt its lessons from the past. Given the conditions imposed by the JD(S), the BJP would do well to decline the offer to lead the coalition.

B. Suresh Kumar,

Coimbatore

It is unfortunate that a national party is bent on assuming power in Karnataka irrespective of the humiliation it has been subjected to. Mr. Gowda wants to hold the strings of administration without any obligation or responsibility. By playing along, the BJP has lost all the sympathy it got when the JD(S) refused to transfer power to it. It would do well to bow out of the arrangement because even if a government is formed, it will be short-lived and the party will have to face elections.

M.A. Chandrashekar,

Mysore

The BJP should opt for elections rather than agree to the JD(S)’ conditions. By saying that the JD(S)-BJP coordination committee should be headed by his son, Mr. Gowda has clearly indicated that he wants power to stay within his family.

Raghavendra R. Pawar,

Bangalore

I remember a hoarding that was put up on MG Road, Bangalore, when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister. It said, on the 20-point programme, that “Points are twenty, problems are plenty, results are empty.” The last part of the sentence is true of the JD (S)-BJP deliberations and the 12 conditions of Mr. Gowda.

D.V. Mahesh Kumar,

Chennai

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