Bihar Governor Buta Singh resigns
by Ajay Kumar

     Patna: Bihar Governor Buta Singh resigned from his post on Thursday after taking the salute at the 57th Republic Day parade in the state capital Patna. Television reports confirmed a short while ago that Singh had faxed his resignation letter to President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam. Addressing reporters shortly after submitting his resignation, Singh said that he would speak about the malicious political motives behind the latest developments at the "right time". He, however, said that at the time of the dissolution of the Bihar State Assembly on May 23, 2005, no party had approached him with a proof of having the required number of MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) to stake a claim to form the a clear majority. The dissolution was to prevent any kind of horse- trading, he said.

   Earlier, Singh, against whom strong strictures were passed by the Supreme Court earlier this week, kept his 'word' by not resigning from his post before taking the salute at the Republic Day parade in Patna today. Speculation was rife in New Delhi that a formal announcement of his resignation or recall was due to come out in the evening after a second meeting of the core committee of the Congress Party. The core committee, which met at Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's official residence on Thursday afternoon, discussed the fallout of the Supreme Court indictment of Buta Singh on the Bihar dissolution case. Congress Party sources revealed that the discussion centred around 'Buta's exit' from the Bihar Governor house as "his continuation is harming party's interest." The committee that generally meets on Thursday, was attended by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Sonia Gandhi's Political Secretary, Ahmed Patel. Yesterday, the Opposition parties had called on President Kalam and demanded the removal of Buta Singh and resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Home Minister Patil had last night asked for more time to give an official response regarding the Supreme Court's snub and had clearly indicated that, "the Government will respect the Supreme Court judgement."

    The Manmohan Singh Government, acting on Buta Singh's advice, had taken the controversial decision to dissolve the Bihar Assembly in May last year in a move that appeared aimed solely at preventing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance from forming an alternative government after Congress and its feuding allies failed to cobble a majority from an inconclusive vote. In a strongly worded verdict, the apex court, questioned the ethics of the governor's role, adding that political groups needed to formulate a clear policy on their appointments in the future. Singh today said that the Supreme Court verdict had nothing to do with his resignation.

Buta keeps his promise to take salute on R-Day

    Patna / New Delhi: The controversial Governor of Bihar, Buta Singh, against whom strong strictures were passed by the Supreme Court earlier this week, kept his 'word' by not resigning from his post and taking the salute at the Republic Day parade at the State capital today. Meanwhile, speculation is rife in New Delhi that a formal announcement of Buta's resignation or recall is due to come out in the evening, when the core committee of the Congress Party will meet for the second time today. The core committee, which met in the afternoon at Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's residence, discussed the fallout of the Supreme Court indictment of Buta Singh on the Bihar dissolution case. Congress Party sources reveal that the discussion centred around "Buta's exit" from the Bihar Governor house as "his continuation is harming party's interest." The meeting that generally meets on Thursday, was today attended by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh and Sonia Gandhi's Political Secretary, Ahmed Patel. Yesterday, the Opposition parties had called on President APJ Abdul Kalam and demanded the removal of Buta Singh and resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

    Meanwhile, Shivraj Patil last night asked for more time to make an official response regarding the Supreme Court's snub and had clearly indicated that, "the Government will respect the Supreme Court judgement." Manmohan Singh's government, acting on State Governor Buta Singh's advice, had taken the controversial decision to dissolve the Bihar Assembly in May last year in a move that appeared aimed solely at preventing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance from forming an alternative government after Congress and its feuding allies failed to cobble a majority from an inconclusive vote. In a strongly worded verdict, the apex court, questioned the ethics of the governor's role adding political groups need to formulate a clear policy on their appointment. Singh had said that the verdict has nothing to do with his resignation and he would continue to be on the post until asked to step down.

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