Yeddyurappa flashes Sonia card at BJP
14 May 2012 12:54 AM GMT
The crisis within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka deepened on Sunday, with former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa calling the present chief minister Sadananda Gowda a betrayer and praising the Congress president Sonia Gandhi. This double attack from the former chief minister has put the party in a dock.
Yeddyurappa alleged that Gowda had not relinquished his post in order to make way for Yeddyurappa at the top spot. Yeddyurapa had resigned after the Lokayukta report on illegal mining indicted him last year.
Rattled by these remarks, Gowda flew to Delhi later in the day to hold talks with the party president Nitin Gadkari and other senior leaders to find a solution to the current impasse. 'We have had so many tussles earlier also. We have solved everything. I hope everything will be resolved,' said Gowda.
The state BJP president K S Eshwarappa had earlier called a meeting of BJP MLAs in Bangalore, which was skipped by the MLAs believed to be close to Yeddyurappa.
In the 225-member Karnataka assembly, the BJP has 120 MLAs, and Yeddyurappa claims to have the support of at least nine ministers and 45 MLAs. The former chief minister, however, did not make it clear if he would resign from the party.
'I have not taken any decision. I will take a decision at an appropriate time after consulting my ministers and leaders,' said Yeddyurappa.
It is believed that the Yeddyurappa camp is upset over Gowda's secret letter to the BJP president, seeking disciplinary action against the MLAs aligned to Yeddyurappa. Yeddyurappa has claimed nine ministers and about 15 MLAs have handed over their letters of resignation to him.
Gowda, however, denied receiving the resignation letters from the minister and MLAs. 'I read in newspapers that about seven ministers and 17 MLAs have submitted their resignation to Yeddyurappa. I can only react when I get their resignations in my hand,' said the chief minister.
If calling Gowda a betrayer was not enough and unusual move, Yeddyurrapa put the party in a spot by praising the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said that her party was supportive of leaders who are in trouble, unlike his party.
'I have to praise Sonia Gandhi. I noticed that Congress party and its people are united and supportive if any one of their party members gets into trouble. They help each other and resolve the problems,' said Yeddyurrapa.
Yeddyurappa said that he was pained at the attitude of his party leaders and they have not been supportive of him after the Supreme Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into his alleged involvement in illegal mining during his tenure as chief minister.
'In the Congress, whenever a prominent leader faces allegations, that party rises to protect him and tell people that law will take its own course,' said Yeddyurappa.
Yeddyurappa alleged that Gowda had not relinquished his post in order to make way for Yeddyurappa at the top spot. Yeddyurapa had resigned after the Lokayukta report on illegal mining indicted him last year.
Rattled by these remarks, Gowda flew to Delhi later in the day to hold talks with the party president Nitin Gadkari and other senior leaders to find a solution to the current impasse. 'We have had so many tussles earlier also. We have solved everything. I hope everything will be resolved,' said Gowda.
The state BJP president K S Eshwarappa had earlier called a meeting of BJP MLAs in Bangalore, which was skipped by the MLAs believed to be close to Yeddyurappa.
In the 225-member Karnataka assembly, the BJP has 120 MLAs, and Yeddyurappa claims to have the support of at least nine ministers and 45 MLAs. The former chief minister, however, did not make it clear if he would resign from the party.
'I have not taken any decision. I will take a decision at an appropriate time after consulting my ministers and leaders,' said Yeddyurappa.
It is believed that the Yeddyurappa camp is upset over Gowda's secret letter to the BJP president, seeking disciplinary action against the MLAs aligned to Yeddyurappa. Yeddyurappa has claimed nine ministers and about 15 MLAs have handed over their letters of resignation to him.
Gowda, however, denied receiving the resignation letters from the minister and MLAs. 'I read in newspapers that about seven ministers and 17 MLAs have submitted their resignation to Yeddyurappa. I can only react when I get their resignations in my hand,' said the chief minister.
If calling Gowda a betrayer was not enough and unusual move, Yeddyurrapa put the party in a spot by praising the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and said that her party was supportive of leaders who are in trouble, unlike his party.
'I have to praise Sonia Gandhi. I noticed that Congress party and its people are united and supportive if any one of their party members gets into trouble. They help each other and resolve the problems,' said Yeddyurrapa.
Yeddyurappa said that he was pained at the attitude of his party leaders and they have not been supportive of him after the Supreme Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into his alleged involvement in illegal mining during his tenure as chief minister.
'In the Congress, whenever a prominent leader faces allegations, that party rises to protect him and tell people that law will take its own course,' said Yeddyurappa.
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