Union Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday got to see the seriousness of the differences persisting in the State unit of the BJP as half of the 12-member core committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, abstained from a public meeting addressed by him in which former bureaucrat K. Shivaramu was inducted into the party.
Leaders of the Opposition in both the Houses of the State Legislature, Jagadish Shettar and K.S. Eshwarappa, Deputy leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok, the former State unit president Pralhad Joshi and Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, were the main absentees.
Unilateral decision
It is said that their grouse was not against the programme, but the alleged “unilateral” decision by State unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa to induct Mr. Shivaramu into the party at the programme without consulting the senior leaders or the core committee.
These leaders are learnt to have cited their own pre-occupations or other activities related to the party for not being able to make it to the event.
For instance, Mr. Ashok was touring the coastal region as part of the organisational responsibility. But they would have certainly made themselves free to attend a programme addressed by a senior leader like Mr. Singh in the normal circumstances, sources in the party said.
These leaders had earlier expressed displeasure in the party forums over Mr. Yeddyurappa allegedly making unilateral appointments to the office-bearers’ team. It is being said that they are upset that again they have not been consulted on inducting a new person into the party.
Not intentional
But leaders close to Mr. Yeddyurappa insisted that the absence of core committee members should not be seen as an intentional act and maintained that there were no differences among top leaders.
When contacted by The Hindu , BJP State general secretary Ravikumar maintained that some of the leaders could not attend the programme as they were busy with party-related programmes and they had informed the party in advance about their pre-occupation.
Mr. Shivaramu heads the Chalavadi Sangha, an association of a dominant committee among the Scheduled Castes.
