A day after receiving full backing from the party’s top brass, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday said BJP’s central leadership is coming out with a “new formula” to end the week-long crisis following dissidents’ demand for his removal.
Continuing his conciliatory tone, Mr. Yeddyurappa recalled the contribution of Ministers Karunakara Reddy and Janardhana Reddy, the two brothers who have been spearheading the campaign for a change of guard, during government formation in May last year when BJP fell short of a simple majority and independents were roped in to back to BJP dispensation.
“Today with all humility, I want to tell you something... It’s true that in some bad moment, some political confusion had taken place. When we were forming the Government, we needed the cooperation of Reddy brothers and they gave the cooperation,” he told reporters in Bellary, the home district of the Reddy brothers.
“Thereafter because of some misunderstanding, there is some confusion. The party’s central leadership is correcting this and they have spoken to them (Reddy brothers) on Monday.
The problem is being resolved with (senior party leader) H N Ananath Kumar in the lead,” he said.
At a meeting with the rebel leaders in Delhi on Monday, the central leadership decided to rally behind Yeddyurappa, credited with bringing the saffron party to power for the first time in the south, though the decision failed to satisfy the dissidents who remained firm on his ouster.
“Perhaps today, we are trying to resolve the issue by coming out with a new formula,” he added but did not elaborate the issues to be discussed.
The rebels, sore with Yeddyurappa’s style of functioning, accuse him of ignoring them in decision making.
A section of MLAs who have thrown their weight behind the Reddy brothers has openly sought removal of Chief Minister’s Principal secretary V P Baligar and Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje.
Mr. Baligar has been accused by some MLAs of ignoring them, while the first time MLA Karnadlaje, the lone woman Minister in the Yeddyurappa cabinet, has come under attack for her closeness to the Chief Minister and the “prominence” that she gets.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yeddyurappa also said he is visiting Delhi on November 5 to invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit flood-affected areas and personally see the devastation, so that the state could expect more assistance from the Centre for flood-relief programmes.
