Was it Hegel or Marx who once pointed out that 'History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce'?
There was a time when the BJP mocked Congress chief ministers for rushing to Delhi to seek the party high command's sanction for ministerial reshuffles.
History has now come a full circle. Nothing moves within BJP governments in the states these days without the party high command's okay.
Take Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Somappa Bommai who has been waiting for weeks to add and subtract ministers, but the two Gujarati gentlemen who run the BJP haven't given him the go ahead yet.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on this strange regurgitation of history.
Shah's visit to Karnataka: Bommai's exit denied
Bommai under pressure to rejig cabinet, to meet Shah
Yedi rules out K'taka leadership change, hails Bommai
Why Bommai needs New Delhi's backing to stay on as CM
Can Bommai emerge from BSY's shadow?