Bangalore: Kumaraswamy's Fast-unto-death Dubbed 'Publicity Stunt'

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Jul 5: Even as Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his JD(S) predecessor H D Kumaraswamy as embroiled in a no-holds-barred contest over the alleged corruption charges involving both leaders and their families with the former Chief Minister threatening to embark on a fast-unto-death in front of Vidhana Soudha from July 9 demanding a CBI probe into the charges against his family, Yeddyurappa’s staunch loyalist and Political Secretary B J Puttaswamy has dubbed the threat as ''a publicity stunt.”

Kumaraswamy, who is holding the post of state JD(S) president and is the Bangalore North Lok Sabha member, had threatened to undertake indefinite fast in front of Vidhana Soudha from July 8 if Yeddyurappa failed to order a CBI probe into the charges leveled by ruling BJP that the family members of JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda had ''amassed illegal worth over Rs 1500 crore.”

The Chief Minister, who refused to comment on the charges leveled by BJP’s national spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman recently in Bangalore in the presence of State BJP Chief K S Eshwarappa and Karnataka’s Energy and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Shobha Karandlaje against the alleged illegal wealth amassed by Deve Gowda family, including Kumaraswamy and former minister H D Revanna, had however ensured that his JD(S) bête-noir was not allowed to sit on indefinite fast in front of Vidhana Soudha within a radius of 2 kms by clamping prohibitory order under Section 144.

Yeddyurappa made it clear that Kumaraswamy or anybody were free to stage their protest in front of the 'freedom park’ like anybody else and would not be allowed to use the Vidhana Soudha or its surroundings for holding their protests.

In a bid to ensure that he could not be cowed down and prevent him from holding the protest by the Government by making use of its powers, Kumaraswamy has announced that he would sit on fast near Basaveshwara Circle, which just near Vidhana Soudha. The JD(S) leader had also made it clear that he would commence his fast on July 9 instead of July 8 as announced earlier.

It remains to be seen whether the Yeddyurappa regime will allow Kumaraswamy to sit on fast in front of Basveshwara Circle or force the latter to shift the venue to Freedom Park in view of the fact that the Government has dropped sufficient hints that it was not in a mood to accept the demand for a CBI probe.

Though some of the BJP leaders were in favour of fixing the Deve Gowda family by ordering a CBI probe as demanded by Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy or Revanna, the Chief Minister is understood to be wary of conceding the demand in view of the fact that it may open the floodgates for similar demands for a CBI probe into all the charges against him and his family, which might eventually tigger a clamour for his ouster.

It may be recalled that Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy were recently involved in a political tussel over the trading of charges and counter-charges and the former publicly challenging the JD(S) leader to take a ''truth test” before Lord Manjunatha at Sri Kshethra Dharmasthala by releasing front-page newspaper advertisements through the State Information Department. With a public outcry against the misuse of State funds to settle political scores, Yeddyurappa subsequently announced that the cost of advertisements would be borne by the State BJP unit.

The immediate cause for the challenge was Kumaraswamy’s claim that the Chief Minister had tried to pressurise him into dropping his plans of addressing a news conference in Delhi on the corruption charges against Yeddyurappa with documentary evidence and that Chief Minister’s emissary Lehar Singh, BJP MLC, had called him in this regard to ensure that both the leaders could hold one-to-one talks in Kerala at the Kottakal nature-cure Ashram. The plan was to utilise the opportunity of Kumaraswamy’s pre-scheduled visit to Kottakal with Yeddyurappa also deciding to go there a day earlier. However, Kumaraswamy dropped his plans to visit Kerala altogether when he learnt that Yeddyurappa had already gone there.

With Kumaraswamy accepting the challenge thrown at him by the Chief Minister and declaring that he would visit Dharmasthala and dared the Chief Minister to visit Dharmasthala along with his family and Lehar Singh, Yeddyurappa had difficulty in wriggling out given the fact that taking the truth-test in Dharmasthala is generally considered serious business and liable to invite divine retribution if either party was not truthful.

As the drama was building up, most of the Hindu Swamijis, who have become vocal supporters of the Chief Minister on more than one occasion, along with ruling party leaders publicly started exerting pressure that the truth-test must not be held. The BJP national president Nitin Gadkari, who has bailed out Yeddyurappa in critical situations in the past, joined the fray and openly asked the Chief Minister not to take the truth test and instead concentrate on the Government’s development agenda. However, both leaders visited Dharmasthala and paid their homage to Lord Manjunatha. While Kumaraswamy swore to the assertions made by him, Yeddyurappa merely performed pooja and came back to the utter disappointment of those who wanted the truth to come out on the corruption scandals.

The ruling BJP, which was visibly shaken by the episode especially after the Chief Minister’s decision of chickening out from carrying out the challenge hurled by him for taking the truth test at Dharmasthala against his political opponent and the latter boldly carried it out, sought to turn the tables against the Deve Gowda by compiling a list of corruption charges leveled by it and other leaders in the past and got Nirmala Sitharaman, Eshwarappa and Shobha Karandlaje to release it to the media. This is the genesis of the present fast-unto-death drama.

Though it is not clear whether Kumaraswamy will carry out his threat of embarking on the fast-unto-death from July 9, Yeddyurappa’s Political Secretary Puttaswamy has now sought to debunk the JD(S) leader’s challenge.

Puttaswamy claimed that the government officials have been conducting probes of encroachment of government lands in Hassan district by family members of Deve Gowda, purchase of lands by H D Balakrishna in Bangalore, misuse of Rs. 56 crore of the KMF funds by former minister H D Revanna, suppression of facts in the affidavit filed by Kumaraswamy during the elections to last Lok Sabha in Ramanagaram and a sum of Rs. 167 crore credited into various bank accounts of family members of Kumaraswamy in 2006.

''Are these not solid and incontrovertible facts about the alleged corruption charges?,” Puttaswamy asked.

Notices have been served to family members of Deve Gowda with regard to encroachment of 82 acres of government land in Hassan district. Probe was also conducted into purchase of 37 acres of land near Bidadi by Kumaraswamy’s mother-in-law at a cost of Rs 1.37 crore, Puttaswamy said, adding: Inquiries were at various stages and are expected to be completed soon.

“Where is the necessity of the CBI probe when our own officials conducting inquiries into land grabbing, land purchase and misuse of funds by family members of Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy?,” he said pointing out that Kumaraswamy’s plan launch the indefinite fast was aimed at gaining political mileage as well as media publicity.

The BJP leader said Kumaraswamy should wait patiently till the completion of all inquiries by officials in Hassan, Ramanagaram and Bangalore. The government would soon recover lands illegally purchased by Balakrishna Gowda, who is the brother of Kumaraswamy, he said.