Renukacharya & Co Will Return on Friday, Promise to Support Yeddyurappa
By Gabriel Vaz
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Oct 7: Confirming the assessment made in earlier reports that were published in Daijiworld that beleaguered Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is on the way of weathering the storm to his leadership, the leader of the dissident group of BJP legislators Excise Minister M P Renukacharya has promised to return to Bangalore on Friday and promised to extend full support to the Chief Minister.
"We swear by the leadership of Yeddyurappa. There is no question of destabilizing the Yeddyurappa regime,” he declared explaining that he and 14 legislators, including ministers will return to the city on Friday.
Renukacharya, who had led the disgruntled legislators first to Chennai and then shifted base to Cochin and later flew to Mumbai and finally to Goa, however, has not clarified why he and his supporters had created the entire fracas.
"Yeddyurappa is our leader. We will come to Bangalore and hold frank discussions with the Chief Minister and other BJP leaders,” he said making it clear that the entire group of legislators will support the Chief Minister when he moves the one-line motion to establish his majority in the state legislative assembly when it meets on October 11, Monday.
However, the reason for the sudden turn-around in the stand of the dissidents is not known. Of the 20 legislators, Doddanagouda Patil had dissociated himself by Wednesday evening itself. Meanwhile, former minister S K Bellubbi and B P Harish have already transferred their loyalities to the Chief Minister. There are reports of a few legislators having already changed their stance in favour of Yeddyurappas.
The Chief Minister had already dropped four independents, who were made cabinet ministers, and subsequently axed another two ministers this morning before going to Kannur on a pilgrimage to seek divine blessings.
The dramatic developments that took place during the last couple of days with as many as 20 legislators, including seven ministers, informing the Governor in writing regarding their decision on withdrawal of support and forced Raj Bhavan to direct the Chief Minister to prove his majority on the floor of the state assembly by 5 pm on October 12.
Incidentally, four-term BJP MLA from Mysore H S Shankaralinge Gowda, who had been nursing a grievance against Yeddyurappa for not making him a minister, and had personally gone and met the Governor to inform his decision of withdrawing support to the Chief Minister caused some anxious moments when he allegedly consumed poison unable to bear the demands of his son, Nandish Pritham, BJP Corporator in Mysore City Corporation, to support the Chief Minister.
While BJP senior leader and party high command’s emissary Venkaiah Naidu, who had been dispatched to Bangalore, to find a solution to the crisis affecting the survival of the first-ever BJP government in the south continued his mediation efforts through personal talks and telephonic conversations, Tourism and Infrastructure Minister Gali Janardhana Reddy rushed to Goa to hold negotiations with the dissidents in the five-star Taj Hotel in Goa.
However, the strict police security clamped around the hotel by the Congress-ruled Digambar Kamath government in Goa prevented Janardhana Reddy from entering the hotel for quite a long time leading to a virtual fracas. The former BJP chief minister of Goa Manohar Parikkar, had to personally intervene for holding discussions with the dissidents.
State JD(S) president and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has also reportedly rushed to Goa ostensibly to ensure protection to the dissident legislators.
BJP national general secretary Ananth Kumar as well as Janardhana Reddy lashed out at the Congress government in Goa and accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi for holding the BJP legislators under virtual house-arrest.
The changing political loyalties of the dissidents on different occasions during the last few days have already resulted in a big joke.
However, Yeddyurappa appears to be safe for the moment and may even have to thank the divine intervention following his visit to the Shiva temple in Kannur in Kerala state.