CM-HDK Dharmasthala face-off Irks Ministers

Bangalore, Jun 19, DHNS : Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s decision to take his fight with JD(S) leader H Kumaraswamy to the Dharmasthala temple has not gone down well with a section of his partymen.

According to party sources, several ministers are unhappy that Yeddyurappa had taken such a ‘political decision’ without consulting the party.

The chief minister is presently undergoing treatment at Kottakkal Ayurvedic Vaidya Shala in Kerala.

A minister said on condition of anonymity that Yeddyurappa had embarrassed the government and the party by taking an arbitrary decision. There is already criticism that the advertisement to score a personal point has been released through the Information Department utilising the taxpayers’ money, the minister said.

However, none of the ministers came on record expressing their displeasure.
Replying to queries from reporters, Home Minister R Ashoka said on Saturday that Yeddyurappa’s integrity as a chief minister had been questioned, and hence he had to release his statement through an open letter.

The Home Minister, however, had no response to a question why the BJP had not released the advertisement instead.

When contacted, State BJP president K S Eshwarappa said Yeddyurappa had no choice but to go to a temple to prove a point because the JD(S) had no belief in the democratic system. “The JD(S) kept off the legislature. It made allegations against Yeddyurappa in courts and Lokayukta. But it could not prove the charges. The JD(S) was rejected by the people in the elections, but it keeps making allegations in the media. Where else can Yeddyurappa disprove these allegations? As a last resort, he decided to take the matter to a temple. Those who have uttered lies will pay a price.”

Asked whether he would be present at the temple, Eshwarappa said he had not taken a decision yet.

‘Immature behaviour’

Terming Yeddyurappa’s challenge to Kumaraswamy as immature and juvenile, State Congress president G Parameshwara on Saturday condemned the chief minister for putting out an advertisement by spending over Rs 80 lakh of the taxpayers’ money.

Parameshwara said it was unbecoming of a chief minister to wash the dirty linen in public by misusing the taxpayers’ money. “If Yeddyurappa felt that Kumaraswamy’s allegations were baseless and false, he should have initiated legal action against him by filing a defamation suit. Or else, he should have sent him a notice seeking a clarification or an apology,” he said.

On June 15, Kumaraswamy’s camp had issued a veiled threat to the BJP government saying it would expose the BJP’s “double standards” on corruption, ahead of the party’s national-level campaign beginning June 24 against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government. This triggered a spat between Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy.

Bangalore: Kumaraswamy Accepts CM Yeddyurappa's Challenge

The Chief Minister is expected to return to Bangalore on Monday.