Governor Bhardwaj: Gandhi or goof?

suchithkc

As we write, there is near-unanimous consensus that Governor H R Bhardwaj has made a fool of himself by recommending president's rule in Karnataka.
The arguments against him are: (a) he is a goof incapable of rational action; (b) he is a Congress retainer who doesn't understand the idea of neutrality required of a governor; (c) he is acting at the behest of H D Deve Gowda, the wily old man of Karnataka politics; and (d) he is a lawyer who employed all his cleverness for a cause that backfired.
As if to confirm his worst critics, Bhardwaj is saying and doing the most astoundingly contradictory things.
A day after Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa paraded 114 MLAs before President Pratibha Patil, Bhardwaj suddenly changed his tune, praising Yeddyurappa's hard work and describing him as a "friend".
He also believes Yeddyurappa has the majority necessary to continue in power. http://in.news.yahoo.com/yeddyurappa-massive-majority-bhardwaj-074500626.html
How did this U-turn come about? Did Bhardwaj's boss Pratibha Patil, besides his alleged party bosses Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, instruct him to pipe down? Has he suddenly realised that he was overstepping his gubernatorial brief? Has the media outrage curbed his plans of effecting a change of government at the Vidhana Soudha? Did fellow legal eagles in the Congress shoot down his proposals?
The reason for his about-turn could be one or more of these. In all this confusion, no one is giving him a chance: Could he be acting fairly, as a governor should, in not accepting the MLAs' support for Yeddyurappa?
What if he is doing his duty in spirit, if not so much in letter? The 11 BJP MLAs now proclaiming their unconditional support for Yeddyurappa were the very ones who started all the tamasha by threatening to bring down the government. The speaker then disqualified them, and the High Court said the speaker was right to throw them out. The speaker's decision was reversed in the Supreme Court last week.
These MLAs have used their power to destabilise the government. They have profited from blackmail, switching their positions with unabashed opportunism. They have switched loyalties and held Yeddyurappa to ransom time and time again. They have flirted with the JD(S) and the Congress, and made it impossible for the government to function smoothly. After some hard bargaining now, they are again pledging everlasting love for Yeddyurappa. Can citizens believe them? And if citizens can't, should Bhardwaj have believed them?
Legally, Yeddyurappa has the support of a majority of MLAs, who probably came together in fright when it looked like the government would fall. He has thanked Bhardwaj for helping unite the various factions within the party. It's no secret that many notorious characters in Yeddyurappa's cabinet would be in trouble if his government were to go.
Should such a government remain in power?
Bhardwaj is no Gandhi: as central law minister, he allegedly let the guilty off the hook in the Bofors case, and is accused of not doing right by the nation when other huge swindles and scandals came to light.
But what if, just what if, Bhardwaj as Karnataka governor is breaking procedural propriety to serve the larger cause of conscience keeping? Smirk all you like. What if we saw Bhardwaj as a bungler who just might have got something right, even if by goofing up?