Bangalore: Yeddy Clams up as Reddys Firm on Change of Guard
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bangalore, Oct 30: The crisis-ridden ruling BJP in Karnataka is yet to  come out of the power struggle. But after three days of hectic mud-slinging, moves and counter-moves involving the two warring factions led by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his loyalists and the Bellary mining lords comprising the trio of G Janardhana Reddy, G Karunakar Reddy and their close confidant B Sriramulu, the scene of action shifted out of the state capital.

Central BJP leader Arun Jaitely, who had been rushed to the Bangalore as the party high command’s emissary to hold parleys with both sides and bring about a rapproachment so as to avoid destabilising the saffron brigade’s first-ever and only government in the south, returned to Delhi empty-handed without achieving anything despite holding talks with leaders of both factions for two days.

Before emplaning for Delhi, Jaitely disclosed that he would brief the central party leadership including national president Rajnath Singh and lok sabha opposition leader L K Advani on the political developments in the state. He indicated that he had asked the chief minister and other key players in the state’s political drama, including the Reddy brothers, to come to Delhi to sort out matters.

While Yeddyurappa, sought to give the appearance of gaining the upper hand on account of the apparent backing from the party high command, declared that he would ``keep quiet and refrain from reacting’’ to any barbs that might be aimed at him by the Bellary Reddy brothers and their supporters on the plea that he would ``concentrate on taking up the task of rehabilitation,’’ his detractors tried to prove that they were not in a mood to budge from their demand for a change of leadership.

If Jaitely returned to Delhi without being able to break the deadlock despite holding talks with the elder brother Karunakar Reddy for two days, the Janardhana Reddy-Sriramulu duo sought to change their game-plan by airlifting the dissident BJP legislators in their camp to Hyderabad and Goa in batches and continued their offensive against Yeddyurappa.

Meanwhile, Karnataka assembly speaker Jagadish Shettar, who was keen on quitting his speaker’s post and becoming a minister until the outbreak of the latest round of dissidence in the ruling party, has opted to keep his cards close to his chest knowing fully well that the dissidents were wooing him to throw his hat in the ring as an alternative leader to Yeddyurappa. The chief minister’s camp also sought to impress upon Shettar not rock the boat at this stage and even sought to reassure him that his demand for a cabinet ministership would be conceded with the portfolio of his choice. Interestingly, Shettar was under pressure to offer himself as an alternative to Yeddyurappa by several other BJP legislators and ministers.

Though the Bellary mining lords, confident of their money and even muscle power, were letting out that they had already managed to woo at least 40 to 50 BJP legislators to their side with more than half-a-dozen cabinet ministers, the chief minister as well as sate BJP president D V Sadananda Gowda were confident of their ability to weather the storm. The dissident camp led by Reddy brothers even disclosed details to unnerve the chief minister’s supporters by revealing that they had crossed the 50 mark and were confident of touching 60 and even reaching 70.

Armed with intelligence reports, the chief minister and his supporters were confident of the fact that the dissidents were far from making good their claims. However, Yeddyurappa said he would accept Jaitely’s advice to concentrate on rehabilation work, good governance and try to take everybody into confidence. It may be recalled that the Reddy brothers had criticised his style of functioning and demanded change of leadership in the state.

Though the chief minister had hinted at taking disciplinary action against the key leaders of the dissident group or at least drop a couple of ministers in the Reddy camp in order to send out a strong message that he would not tolerate indiscipline, he made it clear on Friday that he had no plans to effect a reshuffle of the state cabinet. ``There might be some difference of opinion but no dissident activity in the state,’’ he said in a bid to gloss over the sudden spurt of dissidence in the state unit.

Indirectly referring to Janardhana Reddy’s sarcastic comments that they had raised Rs 500 crore from the mining industrialists for rehabilitation and reconstruction of houses in Bellary, Gagag, Koppal and Raichur districts and that the actual fund mobilisation from the chief minister’s padayatra was barely Rs 50 crore with the claims regarding the collection of Rs 700 to Rs 800 crore as mere promises, Yeddyurappa said the government has so far raised donations to the tune of Rs  1,000 crore from public and private institutions.

The padayatras will be continued till the end of November, he said disclosing that a lakh houses would be built in the first phase by spending Rs 1 lakh each. The state government had already spent Rs 750 crore under the Natural Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) and the Centre had already release Rs 500 crore out of the Rs 1,000 crore special grant announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Karnataka, he said pointing out that the Prime Minister had promised that the Centre would release another Rs 1,000 crore. The government planned to construct 3 lakh houses and steps would be taken for translocation of 226 villages in low-lying and constantly flood-prone areas, he added.

Even as Janardhana Reddy and Sriramulu continued spewing venom at Yeddyurappa and his dictatorial style of functioning besides undue importance to rural development and panchayat raj minister Shobha Karandlaje and home minister Dr V S Acharya and insisted that change of leadership was the only alternative if BJP had to complete its full term of five years, Karunakar Reddy was a little more cautious. ``We have conveyed our feelings and the grievances of the legislators before the central leadership. We are confident that an amicable solution would be found in the interest of the party,’’ he said, declining to reveal their future course of action.

Yeddy - Reddy War: