Karnataka will get a new Governor in three to four days, according to Bharatiya Janata Party State president Pralhad Joshi. “This is the assurance given to me by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when I met him and requested him to expedite the process of appointment,” Mr. Joshi told presspersons after formally inducting the former head of the State police force Shankar M. Bidari into the party at the BJP State headquarters here.
He said he had also taken up the issue with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. “We have told them that it does not look nice to have an in-charge Governor for the State for a long time,” he said, in an obvious reference to Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah holding additional charge of Karnataka from June 29 following the completion of the term of H.R. Bhardwaj.
When asked if the party State unit had recommended the names of anyone for the Governor’s post, he said: “Governor’s appointment is not the party’s job.” However, party sources said State leaders had told their central counterparts that they did not have any objection if veteran party leader from Kerala and former Union Minister O. Rajagopal is appointed for the post. Such a statement was made in the wake of media reports suggesting that he was being considered for the post, sources said. Meanwhile, Mr. Joshi said the party’s highest decision-making body of the State core committee would meet in Bangalore soon after the Ganesh festival to plan the proposed campaign to be launched against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, with respect to denotification of large tracts of land acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority for the formation of Arkavathi Layout.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shettar said preparations for launching such a campaign were in full swing and the party was trying to ascertain the identity of individual beneficiaries in the denotification.
Welcoming Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa’s outbursts against the government, he said the Speaker’s remarks had vindicated the BJP’s stand that the Siddaramaiah government was in deep slumber.
