Many Republican readers have written to ask why I have posted "partisan" charts, like the one after the jump, that use data from the Congressional Budget Office and elsewhere to show that tax cuts over the past decade have played a huge role in creating mammoth federal debt.
In my view, these have been "charts," rather than "partisan charts." And to me their significance is less in allocating responsibility for creating the problem than in clarifying the real options for dealing with it.
______________________________
I too have noticed that when facts are presented, 1) they don't usually support the Republican position, and 2) I get dismissed by Republicans as being "partisan" for presenting them. You may have your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own facts. If the facts seem partisan, maybe the party they support is correct. Yet the Republicans seem to dismiss facts (seemingly systematically), on everything ranging from climate change to the role and purpose and impact of taxation, to biology, to sexuality, to drug policy, to the economics of health care, to foreign policy, to the impact of small arms proliferation, to the history and attribution of culpability for our current economic woes. The Republican party seems to operate in a faith based manner in everything it does, and on every point, it seems to gravitate towards the wrong thing and commits itself with faith.
Here's some news, Republicans: it doesn't matter how much you believe tax cuts for the rich will produce jobs (data shows that they don't), or how much you believe filling our society with assault rifles will make us all safer (beyond a certain capability of the gun, widespread availability of guns gives you the conditions you see in Mexico or Somalia), or how much you think the globe is actually cooling/not warming/warming but not our fault: your ignorance will damn us all. If only you could secede into your own damn country so you alone could suffer the consequences of your willful blindness, we could just agree to disagree. But instead, you obstruct and water-down and force the compromise of every good thing that sincere politicians are trying to do for the US so that we all suffer, from your relentless obstruction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to the non-stop attacks on the EPA, to forcing the Public Option out of Health Care Reform.
Is it not enough that the states you dominate--the so-called "Bible Belt"-- also prove to be the ignorance belt, the poverty belt, the STD belt (http://i.imgur.com/t3ex1.jpg ), the obesity belt, the teen-pregnancy belt (http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/10/teen_pregnancy.html ), the welfare-state belt (http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2051834 ), and the pollution belt? You reap what you sow. Wake the hell up; your party has betrayed you and continues to betray you. Each time you vote Republican, you're voting against your own interests.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
I am a victim of politics and legal system: Justice Dinakaran
NEW DELHI: A day after resigning as theSikkim Chief Justice, Justice P. D. Dinakaran on Saturday said that he has been made a victim of a conspiracy hatched by politicians and the legal system.
Stating that the politicians and the legal system have pushed him into this situation, Justice Dinakaran said: "I am the victim of the whole system- political, executive and also partly the legal system. I expected the rule of law would be available to me. Rule of law is not maintained here. Process of natural justice has been thrown into the air."
Justice Dinakaran, who is facing impeachment allegedly on charges of corruption and judicial misconduct, in his resignation submitted to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil said that he had been denied fair opportunity to defend himself and his reputation by the Judges Inquiry Committee.
He said he had a suspicion that his misfortune was because of the circumstances of his birth in the socially oppressed and underprivileged section of the society.
Justice Dinakaran, born into a Dalit-Christian family of agricultural background, however, clarified that it was a reference to his rural background and not the caste.
"These people (vested interests) will not tolerate that a man from agriculture community rises into such a high position. This is what I meant when I wrote (in my resignation letter) that I am from underprivileged section. Some people have accused me of using communal language but I am not playing the Dalit card. I want to make it sure. Rural people are still underprivileged in this country," he said.
The charges against Justice Dinakaran include land grabbing, accumulation of unaccounted assets, passing judicial order for extraneous considerations, following which his elevation to the Supreme Court was also stalled.
He noted the land in contention is his ancestral property.
"The properties were purchased prior to my elevation, yet charges were framed against me. The properties were owned by relatives from 1993, 1994 onwards. There was a repeated exchange of gifts and advances within the families. How does this become illegal? I don't know how this is illegal," said Justice Dinakaran.
61 year-old Justice Dinakaran, who is due to retire on May 5, 2012, said that he resigned to show his moral integrity.
"I do not have any lust for position or power. Nor do I intend to adopt tactics or protract the proceedings. If you think by doing all these things I want to continue for another eight months, I am prepared to quit and show my bonafide that I am not such a person," said Dinakaran.
He said he had lost faith in the fairness of the procedure adopted by the inquiry committee, headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aftab Alam, as it had decided to go ahead with the proceedings without awaiting the result of his petition challenging the entire process of inquiry.
Stating that the politicians and the legal system have pushed him into this situation, Justice Dinakaran said: "I am the victim of the whole system- political, executive and also partly the legal system. I expected the rule of law would be available to me. Rule of law is not maintained here. Process of natural justice has been thrown into the air."
Justice Dinakaran, who is facing impeachment allegedly on charges of corruption and judicial misconduct, in his resignation submitted to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil said that he had been denied fair opportunity to defend himself and his reputation by the Judges Inquiry Committee.
He said he had a suspicion that his misfortune was because of the circumstances of his birth in the socially oppressed and underprivileged section of the society.
Justice Dinakaran, born into a Dalit-Christian family of agricultural background, however, clarified that it was a reference to his rural background and not the caste.
"These people (vested interests) will not tolerate that a man from agriculture community rises into such a high position. This is what I meant when I wrote (in my resignation letter) that I am from underprivileged section. Some people have accused me of using communal language but I am not playing the Dalit card. I want to make it sure. Rural people are still underprivileged in this country," he said.
The charges against Justice Dinakaran include land grabbing, accumulation of unaccounted assets, passing judicial order for extraneous considerations, following which his elevation to the Supreme Court was also stalled.
He noted the land in contention is his ancestral property.
"The properties were purchased prior to my elevation, yet charges were framed against me. The properties were owned by relatives from 1993, 1994 onwards. There was a repeated exchange of gifts and advances within the families. How does this become illegal? I don't know how this is illegal," said Justice Dinakaran.
61 year-old Justice Dinakaran, who is due to retire on May 5, 2012, said that he resigned to show his moral integrity.
"I do not have any lust for position or power. Nor do I intend to adopt tactics or protract the proceedings. If you think by doing all these things I want to continue for another eight months, I am prepared to quit and show my bonafide that I am not such a person," said Dinakaran.
He said he had lost faith in the fairness of the procedure adopted by the inquiry committee, headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aftab Alam, as it had decided to go ahead with the proceedings without awaiting the result of his petition challenging the entire process of inquiry.
Current Cricket Matches
Test matches
2nd Test: England v India at Nottingham - Jul 29-Aug 2, 2011
England 221; India 258/4
Yuvraj Singh 56* R Dravid 113* JM Anderson 22.5-6-70-2 GP Swann 12-0-76-0
India lead by 37 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Commentary | Report | Article index (16) | Photo index (44) | Hawk-Eye | Wagon wheel | Worm
Youth One-Day Internationals
7th Youth ODI: England Under-19s v South Africa Under-19s at Canterbury - Jul 30, 2011
England Under-19s 204 (48.4 ov); South Africa Under-19s 141/3 (25.4 ov)
MJ Nofal 32* S Pillay 8* P Burgoyne 0.4-0-4-0 AJ Ball 5-0-24-0
South Africa Under-19s require another 64 runs with 7 wickets and 24.2 overs remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
County Championship Division Two
Glamorgan v Northamptonshire at Swansea - Jul 27-30, 2011
Glamorgan 252 and 448; Northamptonshire 552/9d and 7/0
MB Loye 6* SD Peters 1* JAR Harris 0.2-0-7-0
Northamptonshire require another 142 runs with 10 wickets remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Report | Article index (3)
Gloucestershire v Surrey at Cheltenham - Jul 27-30, 2011
Gloucestershire 286 and 320; Surrey 423 and 136/4
JJ Roy 25* MR Ramprakash 35* J Lewis 10.2-0-46-1 DA Payne 9-0-24-1
Surrey require another 48 runs with 6 wickets remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Report | Article index (3)
Middlesex v Derbyshire at Lord's - Jul 29-Aug 1, 2011
Derbyshire 252; Middlesex 299/5
DJ Malan 93* JA Simpson 6* AP Palladino 16.3-2-41-0 RA Whiteley 8-0-33-1
Middlesex lead by 47 runs with 5 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Report | Article index (2)
ICC Intercontinental Cup
Kenya v United Arab Emirates at Nairobi (Gym) - Jul 28-31, 2011
United Arab Emirates 213 and 439/8d; Kenya 219 and 76/4
CO Obuya 32* MN Jesani 0* Amjad Javed 9-2-20-1 Mohammad Tauqir 4-1-7-1
Stumps - Kenya require another 358 runs with 6 wickets remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Article index (2)
Clydesdale Bank 40
Group A: Netherlands v Sussex at Amstelveen - Jul 30, 2011
Sussex 271/2 (40/40 ov); Netherlands 123 (35.2/40 ov)
Sussex won by 148 runs
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
Sri Lanka Cricket Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Tournament
1st Semi-Final: Basnahira v Wayamba at Colombo (RPS) - Jul 30, 2011
Match abandoned without a ball bowled
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
2nd Semi-Final: Kandurata v Ruhuna at Colombo (RPS) - Jul 30, 2011
Ruhuna 155/8 (20/20 ov); Kandurata 148 (19.5/20 ov)
Ruhuna won by 7 runs
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
Bangladesh tour of Zimbabwe
Tour Match: Zimbabwe XI v Bangladeshis at Harare - Jul 30-Aug 1, 2011
Bangladeshis 188; Zimbabwe XI 42/4
CR Ervine 0* F Mutizwa 3* Robiul Islam 4.1-0-8-1 Nazmul Hossain 4-2-9-0
Stumps - Zimbabwe XI trail by 146 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
2nd Test: England v India at Nottingham - Jul 29-Aug 2, 2011
England 221; India 258/4
Yuvraj Singh 56* R Dravid 113* JM Anderson 22.5-6-70-2 GP Swann 12-0-76-0
India lead by 37 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Commentary | Report | Article index (16) | Photo index (44) | Hawk-Eye | Wagon wheel | Worm
Youth One-Day Internationals
7th Youth ODI: England Under-19s v South Africa Under-19s at Canterbury - Jul 30, 2011
England Under-19s 204 (48.4 ov); South Africa Under-19s 141/3 (25.4 ov)
MJ Nofal 32* S Pillay 8* P Burgoyne 0.4-0-4-0 AJ Ball 5-0-24-0
South Africa Under-19s require another 64 runs with 7 wickets and 24.2 overs remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
County Championship Division Two
Glamorgan v Northamptonshire at Swansea - Jul 27-30, 2011
Glamorgan 252 and 448; Northamptonshire 552/9d and 7/0
MB Loye 6* SD Peters 1* JAR Harris 0.2-0-7-0
Northamptonshire require another 142 runs with 10 wickets remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Report | Article index (3)
Gloucestershire v Surrey at Cheltenham - Jul 27-30, 2011
Gloucestershire 286 and 320; Surrey 423 and 136/4
JJ Roy 25* MR Ramprakash 35* J Lewis 10.2-0-46-1 DA Payne 9-0-24-1
Surrey require another 48 runs with 6 wickets remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Report | Article index (3)
Middlesex v Derbyshire at Lord's - Jul 29-Aug 1, 2011
Derbyshire 252; Middlesex 299/5
DJ Malan 93* JA Simpson 6* AP Palladino 16.3-2-41-0 RA Whiteley 8-0-33-1
Middlesex lead by 47 runs with 5 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Report | Article index (2)
ICC Intercontinental Cup
Kenya v United Arab Emirates at Nairobi (Gym) - Jul 28-31, 2011
United Arab Emirates 213 and 439/8d; Kenya 219 and 76/4
CO Obuya 32* MN Jesani 0* Amjad Javed 9-2-20-1 Mohammad Tauqir 4-1-7-1
Stumps - Kenya require another 358 runs with 6 wickets remaining
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Article index (2)
Clydesdale Bank 40
Group A: Netherlands v Sussex at Amstelveen - Jul 30, 2011
Sussex 271/2 (40/40 ov); Netherlands 123 (35.2/40 ov)
Sussex won by 148 runs
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
Sri Lanka Cricket Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Tournament
1st Semi-Final: Basnahira v Wayamba at Colombo (RPS) - Jul 30, 2011
Match abandoned without a ball bowled
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
2nd Semi-Final: Kandurata v Ruhuna at Colombo (RPS) - Jul 30, 2011
Ruhuna 155/8 (20/20 ov); Kandurata 148 (19.5/20 ov)
Ruhuna won by 7 runs
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard
Bangladesh tour of Zimbabwe
Tour Match: Zimbabwe XI v Bangladeshis at Harare - Jul 30-Aug 1, 2011
Bangladeshis 188; Zimbabwe XI 42/4
CR Ervine 0* F Mutizwa 3* Robiul Islam 4.1-0-8-1 Nazmul Hossain 4-2-9-0
Stumps - Zimbabwe XI trail by 146 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
30 JUL, 2011, 05.56PM IST, PTI United Bank of India Q1 net up 23.3% to Rs 132 cr
MUMBAI: State-ownedUnited Bank of India on Saturday posted a 23.3 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 132.4 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2011.
The lender had posted a net profit of Rs 107.8 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal, United Bank of India said in a filing to theBombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Total income of the bank increased by 29 per cent during the period to Rs 2,008.1 crore from Rs 1,557.8 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The interest income of the bank rose to Rs 1,838.3 crore during the reporting quarter from Rs 1,437.2 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.
The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declined to 2.89 per cent during the quarter ended June 30, 2011, from 3.19 per cent in the same quarter a year ago.
The lender had posted a net profit of Rs 107.8 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal, United Bank of India said in a filing to theBombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Total income of the bank increased by 29 per cent during the period to Rs 2,008.1 crore from Rs 1,557.8 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The interest income of the bank rose to Rs 1,838.3 crore during the reporting quarter from Rs 1,437.2 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.
The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declined to 2.89 per cent during the quarter ended June 30, 2011, from 3.19 per cent in the same quarter a year ago.
France, U.S. Have Highest Depression Rates in World, Study Suggests
More people reported being depressed in France and the U.S. than anywhere in the world, according to interviews of more than 89,000 people in 18 different countries.
The study, sponsored by the World Health Organization, found that 21 percent of people in France and 19.2 percent of people in the U.S. reported having an extended period of depression within their lifetime. On average, 15 percent of people in high-income countries reported having an episode, compared with 11 percent in low-income countries, according to the study, published July 25 in the journal BMC Medicine.
Depression affects nearly 121 million people worldwide and is the second leading contributor to shorter lifespan and poor health for individuals 15-44 years of age, according to the Geneva-based WHO. The higher percentage of depression reported by people in wealthier countries may reflect differences in societal expectations for a good life, said study co-author Ronald Kessler.
“There are a lot of people in the U.S. who say they aren’t satisfied with their lives,” Kessler, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said in an interview. “U.S. expectations know no bounds and people in other countries are just happy to have a meal on the table.”
The disease is the third-largest contributor to lowered productivity in the workplace, Kessler said.
Depression Differences
Researchers took into account both clinical depression, a biological condition that leads to low self-esteem and loss of interest in otherwise enjoyable activities, and types of mild depression, which can be situational or caused by environmental influences. The latter was likely the cause of higher rates in the U.S. and France, Kessler said.
“There’s no change in biological depression, but what’s going up is the more mild depression,” Kessler said. “Objective things haven’t changed. We have an expectation that everything’s going to turn out perfect but it doesn’t.”
Scientists from twenty different institutions worldwide worked with the WHO’s World Mental Health Survey Initiative, obtaining data by interviewing 89,037 people in 18 different countries from 2000 to 2005. Trained interviewers spoke with respondents in person or over the phone about traumatic events in that person’s life, substance abuse, relationships, happiness, and other factors that could influence mental health.
The report also found that women were twice as likely to experience depression, and the strongest link to depression was separation or divorce from a partner.
“Most people that come out of medical school or residencies do not learn about depression, so they don’t know how to recognize it,” said lead researcher Evelyn Bromet, a professor and epidemiologist at Stony Brook University Medical Center in Stony Brook, New York.
To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Renick in New York at orenick@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.
The study, sponsored by the World Health Organization, found that 21 percent of people in France and 19.2 percent of people in the U.S. reported having an extended period of depression within their lifetime. On average, 15 percent of people in high-income countries reported having an episode, compared with 11 percent in low-income countries, according to the study, published July 25 in the journal BMC Medicine.
Depression affects nearly 121 million people worldwide and is the second leading contributor to shorter lifespan and poor health for individuals 15-44 years of age, according to the Geneva-based WHO. The higher percentage of depression reported by people in wealthier countries may reflect differences in societal expectations for a good life, said study co-author Ronald Kessler.
“There are a lot of people in the U.S. who say they aren’t satisfied with their lives,” Kessler, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said in an interview. “U.S. expectations know no bounds and people in other countries are just happy to have a meal on the table.”
The disease is the third-largest contributor to lowered productivity in the workplace, Kessler said.
Depression Differences
Researchers took into account both clinical depression, a biological condition that leads to low self-esteem and loss of interest in otherwise enjoyable activities, and types of mild depression, which can be situational or caused by environmental influences. The latter was likely the cause of higher rates in the U.S. and France, Kessler said.
“There’s no change in biological depression, but what’s going up is the more mild depression,” Kessler said. “Objective things haven’t changed. We have an expectation that everything’s going to turn out perfect but it doesn’t.”
Scientists from twenty different institutions worldwide worked with the WHO’s World Mental Health Survey Initiative, obtaining data by interviewing 89,037 people in 18 different countries from 2000 to 2005. Trained interviewers spoke with respondents in person or over the phone about traumatic events in that person’s life, substance abuse, relationships, happiness, and other factors that could influence mental health.
The report also found that women were twice as likely to experience depression, and the strongest link to depression was separation or divorce from a partner.
“Most people that come out of medical school or residencies do not learn about depression, so they don’t know how to recognize it,” said lead researcher Evelyn Bromet, a professor and epidemiologist at Stony Brook University Medical Center in Stony Brook, New York.
To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Renick in New York at orenick@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.
First Trojan asteroid circling sun in Earth's orbit discovered
NASA’s Wide—field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission has discovered a long—hidden companion of the Earth — the first Trojan asteroid circling the sun in the Earth’s orbit.
Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet, locked in stable orbits by a gravitational balancing act between a planet and the Sun. Neptune, Mars and Jupiter are known to have Trojans.
Two of Saturn’s moons share orbits with Trojans. Scientists had predicted Earth should also have Trojans, but they have been difficult to find because they are relatively small and appear near the sun from Earth’s point of view.
"These asteroids dwell mostly in the daylight, making them very hard to see,” said lead author Martin Connors of Athabasca University in Canada. "But we finally found one, because the object has an unusual orbit that takes it farther away from the sun than what is typical for Trojans. WISE was a game—changer, giving us a point of view difficult to have at Earth’s surface,” he added.
Connors and his team began their search for an Earth Trojan using data from NEOWISE, an addition to the WISE mission that focused in part on near—Earth objects, or NEOs, such as asteroids and comets. The NEOWISE project observed more than 155,000 asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and more than 500 NEOs, discovering 132 that were previously unknown.
The team identified a small asteroid named ‘2010 TK7’ as an Earth Trojan after follow—up observations with the Canada—France—Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
The asteroid is roughly 1,000 feet (300 meters) in diameter. It has an unusual orbit that traces a complex motion near a stable point in the plane of Earth’s orbit, although the asteroid also moves above and below the plane. The object is about 50 million miles (80 million kilometers) from Earth.
The asteroid’s orbit is well—defined and for at least the next 100 years, it will not come closer to Earth than 15 million miles (24 million kilometers).
"It’s as though Earth is playing follow the leader. Earth always is chasing this asteroid around,” said Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator of NEOWISE at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.
The discovery is published in the July 28 issue of the journal Nature.
Keywords: NASA, Wide—field Infrared Survey Explorer
Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet, locked in stable orbits by a gravitational balancing act between a planet and the Sun. Neptune, Mars and Jupiter are known to have Trojans.
Two of Saturn’s moons share orbits with Trojans. Scientists had predicted Earth should also have Trojans, but they have been difficult to find because they are relatively small and appear near the sun from Earth’s point of view.
"These asteroids dwell mostly in the daylight, making them very hard to see,” said lead author Martin Connors of Athabasca University in Canada. "But we finally found one, because the object has an unusual orbit that takes it farther away from the sun than what is typical for Trojans. WISE was a game—changer, giving us a point of view difficult to have at Earth’s surface,” he added.
Connors and his team began their search for an Earth Trojan using data from NEOWISE, an addition to the WISE mission that focused in part on near—Earth objects, or NEOs, such as asteroids and comets. The NEOWISE project observed more than 155,000 asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and more than 500 NEOs, discovering 132 that were previously unknown.
The team identified a small asteroid named ‘2010 TK7’ as an Earth Trojan after follow—up observations with the Canada—France—Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
The asteroid is roughly 1,000 feet (300 meters) in diameter. It has an unusual orbit that traces a complex motion near a stable point in the plane of Earth’s orbit, although the asteroid also moves above and below the plane. The object is about 50 million miles (80 million kilometers) from Earth.
The asteroid’s orbit is well—defined and for at least the next 100 years, it will not come closer to Earth than 15 million miles (24 million kilometers).
"It’s as though Earth is playing follow the leader. Earth always is chasing this asteroid around,” said Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator of NEOWISE at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.
The discovery is published in the July 28 issue of the journal Nature.
Keywords: NASA, Wide—field Infrared Survey Explorer
Karnataka political crisis deepens
The political crisis in Karnataka has deepened, with a clear split emerging within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The crisis has come in the wake of the party’s central leadership directing Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to resign after the Lokayukta on Wednesday submitted a report indicting him.
For the second time in less than three days, Mr. Yeddyurappa on Saturday conveyed to the central observers — the former BJP president, Rajnath Singh, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley — that he would resign on Sunday, July 31. But given the political twists and turns witnessed through the day, and behind-the-scenes confabulations among party seniors, it is doubtful if the Chief Minister would actually resign.
Two factions have emerged in the party: one loyal to the central leadership and the other loyal to Mr. Yeddyurappa. Mr. Yeddyurappa himself has chosen to remain in the background but he is calling the shots through his loyalists.
The open defiance has only escalated despite the party headquarters in New Delhi and the observers who are now in Bangalore establishing channels of communication with Mr. Yeddyurappa. Under the circumstances, the central leadership may even resort to disciplinary action against Mr. Yeddyurappa, which may be in the form of suspension from party membership. Such a step is also expected to enable the party to ascertain whether the legislators who are now with him would fall in line to obey the directions from New Delhi.
The central observers have made it clear that they are in Bangalore to seek and get the Chief Minister's resignation and to facilitate the election of a new leader of the BJP Legislature Party. In other words, they are not here to meet the demands of the Chief Minister. These demands are that the next Chief Minister should be a legislator of his choice and that he should be made president of the State BJP unit. On Saturday, an additional demand was made: that the party MP from Bangalore South and Union Minister, Ananth Kumar, should not be the chief ministerial choice.
Through the day, it has been a numbers game with one section claiming that it has more than the other. The direction of the central observers to the legislators to meet them individually to express their choice of leader, took a back seat, with the party deciding that it has to first obtain the resignation of the Chief Minister and that other issues could be finalised later. Of a total strength of 120 that the BJP has in the Assembly, the Chief Minister’s camp is believed to have a bigger share than the rival faction.
Legislators loyal to the Reddy brothers (of Bellary fame) have remained in the background, although officially they claim that they are with the central leadership and also have respect for the Chief Minister. Should they extend support to Mr. Yeddyurappa, with whom they have a common cause in the context of the report on illegal mining submitted by the Lokayukta, the Yeddyurappa camp will emerge even stronger than it is now.
Keywords: Yeddyurappa resignation, Karnataka political crisis, illegal mining, Lokayukta report
The crisis has come in the wake of the party’s central leadership directing Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to resign after the Lokayukta on Wednesday submitted a report indicting him.
For the second time in less than three days, Mr. Yeddyurappa on Saturday conveyed to the central observers — the former BJP president, Rajnath Singh, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley — that he would resign on Sunday, July 31. But given the political twists and turns witnessed through the day, and behind-the-scenes confabulations among party seniors, it is doubtful if the Chief Minister would actually resign.
Two factions have emerged in the party: one loyal to the central leadership and the other loyal to Mr. Yeddyurappa. Mr. Yeddyurappa himself has chosen to remain in the background but he is calling the shots through his loyalists.
The open defiance has only escalated despite the party headquarters in New Delhi and the observers who are now in Bangalore establishing channels of communication with Mr. Yeddyurappa. Under the circumstances, the central leadership may even resort to disciplinary action against Mr. Yeddyurappa, which may be in the form of suspension from party membership. Such a step is also expected to enable the party to ascertain whether the legislators who are now with him would fall in line to obey the directions from New Delhi.
The central observers have made it clear that they are in Bangalore to seek and get the Chief Minister's resignation and to facilitate the election of a new leader of the BJP Legislature Party. In other words, they are not here to meet the demands of the Chief Minister. These demands are that the next Chief Minister should be a legislator of his choice and that he should be made president of the State BJP unit. On Saturday, an additional demand was made: that the party MP from Bangalore South and Union Minister, Ananth Kumar, should not be the chief ministerial choice.
Through the day, it has been a numbers game with one section claiming that it has more than the other. The direction of the central observers to the legislators to meet them individually to express their choice of leader, took a back seat, with the party deciding that it has to first obtain the resignation of the Chief Minister and that other issues could be finalised later. Of a total strength of 120 that the BJP has in the Assembly, the Chief Minister’s camp is believed to have a bigger share than the rival faction.
Legislators loyal to the Reddy brothers (of Bellary fame) have remained in the background, although officially they claim that they are with the central leadership and also have respect for the Chief Minister. Should they extend support to Mr. Yeddyurappa, with whom they have a common cause in the context of the report on illegal mining submitted by the Lokayukta, the Yeddyurappa camp will emerge even stronger than it is now.
Keywords: Yeddyurappa resignation, Karnataka political crisis, illegal mining, Lokayukta report
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