Bommai rejects conspiracy theories around Governor meet

Karnataka Law Minister Basavaraj Bommai said governors of all states were holding meetings on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direction, after questions were raised on Governor Vajubhai R Vala’s move to chair an all-party roundtable scheduled later today on Covid-19.

“The PM has spoken with all Governors and has asked them to hold talks with state governments and Opposition parties to ensure coordination for a united fight against Covid-19 during such an extraordinary circumstance. Governors of all states are holding meetings,” Bommai, who is also the parliamentary affairs minister, said.

Vala’s move to chair an all-party meeting on the Covid-19 situation has sparked off some fundamental questions, with Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar wondering if the state had slipped under the Governor's rule.

“There’s a Congress government in Rajasthan. If the Governor holds a meeting, does it mean there’s Governor’s rule in Rajasthan? Maharashtra has a coalition where the Congress is a partner. If the Governor there holds a meeting, does Maharashtra come under the Governor’s rule?” Bommai asked.

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Shivakumar had said that he received an invitation for the all-party meeting from the Governor’s office, and not the Chief Minister’s Office. “This is the first time the Governor has convened an all-party meeting. Signs that the state will officially come under Governor’s rule are everywhere,” Shivakumar had said.

Earlier in the day, the Congress speculated if the Governor’s all-party meeting was a sign of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s exit. “What does the Governor’s meeting show? Isn’t there an elected government in the state? Is it the government’s inefficiency or a BSYMuktaBJP campaign? Or, does the government have no face to show to the Opposition? Or, has the situation gone out of control?” the party said in a tweet.

Bommai said it was wrong to politicise everything every time.

Read | Tough Covid-19 measures likely after Karnataka all-party meet

On the possibility of imposing prohibitory orders to curb the movement of people, Bommai said this would be discussed in the all-party meeting.

The minister further defended the government over criticism on its handling of the second Covid-19 wave. “Everybody knows that this mutation of the coronavirus is faster in terms of the way it has spread in just three weeks. Still, we’ve ensured beds for thousands of people and the situation is under control in the districts,” Bommai said.

“But I admit there’s a problem in Bengaluru. We’re taking all steps. We’ve spoken to oxygen manufacturers and I spoke to Jindal myself. We’re taking all steps and we need to work together,” he said.