Patna, Jan. 24: On the morning of May 23 last year, after the midnight dissolution of the Assembly, Lalu Prasad was elated.

“It was proper to dissolve the Assembly. No option was left and shameful horse-trading was going on,” the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief had said, echoing the words of the Patna Raj Bhavan’s controversial occupant.

The NDA accused Lalu Prasad of not only masterminding the dissolution but also obtaining it by blackmail, as Nitish Kumar had mustered the numbers and was to stake claim in a day.

Today, Lalu Prasad said: “The decision of the Supreme Court is supreme and everyone has to accept it. I cannot comment any further.” Asked if the governor’s fate was sealed and he would have to resign, the railway minister said: “What else can he do?”

Buta Singh, however, is “defiant”, and asserted that he would take salute at the Republic Day parade.

“The governor’s role in the entire episode was limited as he was acting on the orders of his bosses in the Congress as well as Lalu Prasad. He was a mere agent; the catalyst was someone else. Imagine the devastating effect on the UPA and Lalu Prasad if Buta now decides to open his mouth,” said a top bureaucrat.

On the evening of May 22, hours before the Assembly was dissolved, central forces had already been deployed in Patna and other possible trouble spots across the state. A CRPF officer had then said: “We first got instructions on the telephone and then written orders from the headquarters to move to Bihar in large numbers. The decision to dissolve the Assembly must already have been taken.”

Invitations for the Republic Day function at Gandhi Maidan have gone out and Buta is slated to unfurl the Tricolour.

“If he is removed or recalled, the high court chief justice can do the honours. It is a very serious matter because the nation will celebrate the installation of the Constitution and the governor’s act has been declared unconstitutional,” said the bureaucrat.

Nitish refused to comment on the matter any further than describing it as a vindication of what he had said earlier.