B'lore: Despite Offer of Shobha’s Scalp, Reddy’s Firm on Yeddy’s Ouster

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Nov 5: The political crisis dogging Karnataka’s ruling BJP remained unresolved even as the party high command continued its efforts to bring the leaders of the warring factions to the negotiating table.

BJP national president Rajnath Singh, lok sabha opposition leader L K Advani and his deputy Sushma Swaraj, rajya sabha opposition leader Arun Jaitely, senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu and many other central leaders held several rounds of talks with Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who reached Delhi last night, state BJP president D V Sadananda Gowda and other ministers as well as the leader of the Bellary mining barons, Gali Janardhana Reddy, who is spearheading the anti-Yeddyurappa dissident faction, and state assembly speaker Jagadish Shettar without being able to break the deadlock.

 B S Yeddyurappa called on the BJP national president Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Nov 5. Rajnath Singh, BSY, Sadananda Gowda and Arun Jaitley can be seen in the pic.

In a surprising development, former union minister and Karnataka’s special representative in Delhi Dhananjaya  Kumar, who is known to be very close to the chief minister, had declared that there was no question of change of Yeddyurappa’s leadership. Claiming that the crisis will be resolved ``in two days,’’ Dhananjaya Kumar declared that both Yeddyurappa and Janardhana Reddy, along with his elder borther Karunakara Reddy, will be addressing a joint news conference in Delhi on Friday bringing the curtains down on the dissidence war.

However, Karunakara Reddy has declared that there was no question of his addressing a joint news conference with the chief minister.

BJP national president Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu have separately asserted that the crisis will be resolved in a couple of days and that there was no question of change of leadership in the state.

B S Y called on BJP leader Venkaih Naidu in New Delhi on Nov 5

BSY called on Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Nov 5
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Reports reaching from Delhi indicate that the beleaguered saffron high command, which has been facing a series of reverses before and after the lok sabha poll debacle, made little headway in convincing the dissident faction led by the Bellary mining lords to budge from their rigid stand seeking change of leadership in the state or even bring them round to the negotiating table for a face-to-face discussion.

However, reports reaching from Delhi suggested that the BJP high command, which has been so far firm in its resolve not to give in to the demand for change of chief ministership in the state, has brought Yeddyurappa round to meet the Reddy brothers for a give-and-take talk and retract the transfers of the Reddy-loyalist officers effected by him in Bellary and be ready to meet all legislators to sort out their grievances. In addition, the high command is learnt to have to offered the Reddy brothers that they will persuade Yeddyurappa to drop their bête-noir Shobha Karandlaje, who is the rural development and panchayat raj minister, from the cabinet, and also shift Yeddyurappa’s principal secretary V P Baligar, who is a red-herring for them.

The BJP high command is understood have offered to make the chief minister to drop even home minister Dr V S Acharya, if that would satisfy the Reddy brothers, with little success.

The Bellary mining lords, particularly Janardhana Reddy who is camping in Delhi since the last few days after the failure of the Jaitely patch-up mission in Bangalore, has stubbornly refused to relent and accept anything short of Yeddyurappa’s ouster. Surprisingly, the Reddy brothers have refused to be persuaded even after the intervention of Sushma Swaraj, who is respected by them almost like a ``mother.’’

Yeddyurappa, who has been blowing hot and cold vis-à-vis the challenge posed by the dissidents, said he was willing to talk to Reddy brothers and dissident legislators. At the same time, he said: ``The rebel MLAs have tarnished the image of the party. I would request them to go back to their constituencies and engage in the massive task of rehabilitation the millions of flood-affected people. Let us forget our differences and work together.’’

In another overture to the dissidents, Yeddyurappa even met the speaker Jagadish Shettar, who has been projected by the dissidents as their preferred choice to take his place, and offered to meet his demand for a cabinet berth and even the portfolio he wants.

Meanwhile, Shobha Karandlaje, whose scalp is being demanded by the dissidents gunning for Yeddyurappa’s ouster, told reporters in Bangalore that she was ready to resign her ministerial post if the party asked her.

"I am a loyal party worker. If the party wants me to quit, I will oblige,’’ she said in sharp contrast with her public statement a few days back, when she said: ``I have done nothing wrong. I have sufficient work in my department and have no time for interfering in other departments. Why should I resign?’’

In a related development, medical education minister Ramachandra Gowda, who is considered quite close to Yeddyurappa, said there was no reason for the resignation of the chief minister. ``None of the dissidents have substantiated their demand for removal of Shobha or Baligar.’’

V P Baligar, N R Vishu Kumar, Imkonga Zameer paid tributes to saint poet Kanakadasa on the occasion of Kanaka Jayanti on Nov 5.

At the same time, he felt neither tourism and infrastructure minister Janardhana Reddy nor his elder brother Karunakara Reddy, who is the revenue minister, could be punished for their rebellion under the present circumstances as their actions could be termed as ``sudden cough while relishing a sumptuous meal.’’

Asked why BJP showed the door to Uma Bharati and Kalyan Singh while tolerating the Reddy brothers, Gowda said the circumstances were different. ``These kind of problems are natural in any party. We are confident of sorting them out,’’ he said.

State Congress president R V Deshpande, who along with opposition leader in the assembly Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and other Union ministers as well as Congress president Sonia Gandhi, attacked the ruling BJP in the state for betraying the people through their naked lust for power instead of responding to the plight of the people.

``The Yeddyurappa regime should either govern and discharge its duties or quit,’’ he said making it clear that the state Congress leaders had not discussed the internal squabbling in BJP with Sonia Gandhi. The state Congress leaders did not have any plans to take up the issue with state governor H R Bharadhwaj and submit a memorandum, he said pointing out that as a former union law minister the governor was quite competent to take his own decisions.