The Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) of the former Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa made a strong demand for the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa in the wake of the Lokayukta raids on his residences following a private complaint.
Addressing a press conference in Bangalore soon after the raids began, KJP State unit president V. Dhananjaya Kumar demanded that Mr. Eshwarappa, who is holding two prominent portfolios of Revenue and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj, should immediately quit the ministry. “He should be sacked by the Chief Minister if he does not quit,” he said while pointing out that this was the first instance in which a Minister’s residences had been raided by the Lokayukta in the State.
Alleging that infighting had begun in the BJP for leadership, Mr. Kumar suspected that the raids could even be the handiwork of Deputy Chief Minister R. Ashok.
He also took exception to the former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda repeatedly targeting their leader Yeddyurappa over corruption issues. “Mr. Gowda used to vehemently defend Mr. Yeddyurappa when he was BJP State president. But he started criticising Mr. Yeddyurappa after he had to quit as Chief Minister. It only exposes his double standards as he did not find anything wrong with Mr. Yeddyurappa as long as he (Mr. Gowda) was in power,” he said.
He also maintained that the fight between the KJP and the BJP was actually a fight with respect to the issues concerning development as well as public conduct of the BJP leaders.
