Sriramulu, Palemar and Many Other Ministers Offer to Quit to Help Yeddy
By Gabriel Vaz
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Oct 7: With BJP central high command deputing its trusted trouble-shooter and senior leader Venkaiah Naidu to help stave off the crisis threatening the survival of the first-ever BJP Government in the south, frantic efforts are underway to somehow persuade the disgruntled legislators who had shifted their base from Chennai to Cochin to give up their brinkmanship.
Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu, who is a confidant of the Bellary mining lords and was the first to fly to Chennai to negotiate with the dissidents in a bid to save the government, had set the ball rolling by offering to quit in order to help Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to accommodate the dissidents.
In fact, the Chief Minister, who addressed the media after the emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning following the decision to sack four independents, who were made ministers, had indicated that 3 to 4 ministers had offered to voluntarily step down to make room for accommodating the contenders for ministerial berths.
Ports Minister Krishna Palemar, who lost the fisheries portfolio in the last cabinet reshuffle, had offered to quit to strengthen the Chief Minister’s hands.
Political circles are agog with rumours that Higher Education Minister Dr V S Acharya, who had to give up his prestigious home portfolio to Transport Minister R Ashok, had also informed the Chief Minister that he was willing to relinquish his ministerial post.
There is speculation that the newly appointed Forest Minsiter C H Vijayashankar, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar and another minister S A Ravindranath, who was divested of his Agriculture portfolio, as well as the Chief Minister’s trusted cabinet colleague V Somanna were among the other ministers who had informed Yeddyurappa of their willingness to sacrifice their posts.
"These are just offers. Nothing definite or concrete has happened. The offers from ministers to quit to make way for accommodating the dissidents by creating more vacancies are mere offers,” said a source close to the Chief Minister.
Even if the Chief Minister finally decides to ask some of his cabinet colleagues to quit to accommodate the dissidents, the source said there is no question of depriving ministerial representation for the entire coastal region.
"Fisheries Minister Anand Asnotikar has already joined the dissident’s camp and has informed the Governor of his decision to quit. If Asnotikar finally goes, Secondary and Primary Education Minister Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri will be the only minister left from Uttara Kannada,” the source said pointing out that the Chief Minister would never allow either Palemar representing Dakshina Kannada or Dr Acharya, who represents Udupi district, to quit because it would mean both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts would be left without any representation.
"The entire coastal region is our stronghold. Can the party afford to antagonize the educated and politically aware people of this region, who have been loyal to BJP right from the beginning?,” the source asked.
The Chief Minister, who had gone to seek divine blessings from his favourite Bhagawati temple near Kannur in Kerala State, is expected to return by evening. With Venkaiah Naidu reaching Bangalore, the political developments are likely to gain momentum in the next couple of days before the final trial of strength on the floor of the Legislative Assembly on October 11.
The Governor has asked the Chief Minister to prove his majority in the Assembly by 5 pm on October 12.