MYSURU: The slugfest between the ruling Congress and opposition parties seems to be keeping Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot busy. Raj Bhavan has been receiving many complaints against the government and ministers not only from the people but also from bureaucrats and other officials after Congress came to power in the state.
The latest is the “fake” letter accusing Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy of corruption.
It is for the first time that political and administrative issues are being taken up with the governor with a plea for his intervention and action.
The reason for this is BJP, being the main opposition party, is yet to elect the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly to take on the ruling Congress led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, according to political analysts.
The governor assumed the centre stage after seven agriculture officials allegedly shot a letter to Raj Bhavan accusing Cheluvarayaswamy of indulging in corruption. Subsequently, the governor’s office wrote to the chief secretary’s office to look into the allegation against the agriculture minister.
The officials accused Cheluvarayaswamy of demanding bribes from them for official favours. They even threatened to commit suicide if no action was taken against the minister.However, the minister called the letter “fake” and stated that it aimed at tarnishing his reputation. When the matter snowballed into an issue, the chief minister ordered a CID probe into the case.
On Tuesday, members of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Contractors’ Association met the governor and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention to get their bills cleared for the works done from 2019 to 2023. The contractors were assured that their grievances would be taken up with the chief minister, deputy chief minister and the chief secretary.
A few days ago, BJP and JDS legislators met the governor and sought his intervention after 10 BJP MLAs were suspended by the speaker of the Assembly. They also sought his intervention when the government used some bureaucrats as protocol officers for the opposition parties’ conclave in Bengaluru. All this points to the failure of the BJP to appoint a strong leader as Leader of Opposition in the legislative Assembly to counter the Congress government.