Factional feud in K'taka unit: BJP eases out 4 office-bearers

Cracking down on the feuding factions of the party's Karnataka unit, the BJP central leadership has relieved two office bearers each from the state president BS Yeddyurappa and senior leader K S Eshwarappa camps, of their charges.

It also barred party members from participating in the activities of Rayanna Brigade, an apolitical forum of Dalits and backward classes floated by Eshwarappa in an apparent show of strength, and also asked them not to talk about party's internal affairs in public and in media.

The crackdown comes following a series of meetings held by BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Muralidhar Rao with party leaders here on Saturday and Sunday. The party's factional feud had intensified on April 27 with Eshwarappa holding a convention to "save" the organisation in defiance of the warnings by Yeddyurappa's camp against it.

In a late night move, state BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar announced that the state unit vice presidents, Bhanuprakash and Nirmal Kumar Surana, Raitha Morcha vice president M P Renukacharya and spokesperson G Madhusudhan have been relieved of their responsibilities to the party with immediate effect.

While Bhanuprakash and Surana had shared the stage with Eshwarappa at the convention, Renukacharya and G Madhusudhan considered close to Yeddyurappa had made public statements targeting national joint general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.

Yeddyurappa has earlier too blamed Santhosh, perceived to hold significant sway over the party affairs in the state, for scripting dissidence activities.

After meetings with Muralidhar Rao, another BJP state general secretary Aravinda Limbavali today said the party's central leadership was closely observing the recent happenings in Karnataka unit.

Clarifying that there was no link or relationship between the BJP and the Rayanna Brigade, he said in a statement that the BJP office bearers, leaders and workers are strictly barred from participating in the Rayanna Brigade's activities.

The party s central leadership has instructed the functionaries not to organise any activity connected with any brigade or other kind of organisations, he added.

Also stating that airing views on party's internal affairs in public and in media has been prohibited, Limbavali warned that strict disciplinary" action will be taken in the event of anyone violating these instructions.

Meanwhile, the party sources said Eshwarappa, who was scheduled to meet Muralidhar Rao today, has decided to skip the meeting.

Speaking to the reporters in Tumkuru, Eshwarappa, the leader of the opposition in the legislative council, ruled out the possibility of the party taking any action against him.

The senior leader said he was deeply pained by the action against Bhanuprakash and Surana, noting that they have served the organisation for years.

"What is there to seek report about me from Muralidhar Rao? There is nothing, some one is creating such things... Every one at the centre knows about my contribution to the BJP organisation since the beginning...," he said in reply to a question.