The former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa — who had forced the Bharatiya Janata Party central leadership to replace D.V. Sadananda Gowda with Jagadish Shettar as Chief Minister only in July — has now turned his ire against the latter.
Speaking to presspersons at his residence where he met his loyalists, Mr. Yeddyurappa warned Mr. Shettar to be prepared for the “consequences” if he takes “unilateral” decisions. He hoped Mr. Shettar “would not go the way of” his predecessor Mr. Gowda, who had lost his post for defying his [Mr. Yeddyurappa’s] diktats.
Mr. Yeddyurappa warned that if Mr. Shettar continues with taking “unilateral decisions” without consulting him and other leaders, “I should not be held responsible for the consequences”. He said he would discuss the issue with Cabinet Ministers who are loyal to him and decide on the future course of action.
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His strong reaction follows the decision taken by Mr. Shettar to allocate two additional portfolios to Minister for Municipal Administration Balachandra Jarkiholi, even as many of Yeddyurappa’s loyalists were aspirants for ministerial berths. This came quick on the heels of the expulsion on Tuesday of V. Dhananjay Kumar from the party, a close aide of Mr. Yeddyurappa.
These developments have further stirred the factional infighting in the BJP. Many of Mr. Yeddyurappa’s loyalists, including M.P. Renukacharya, have echoed similar sentiments.
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Going a step further, Mr. Yeddyurappa suggested that Mr. Jharkiholi had been given additional charges at the behest of Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy. Mr. Yeddyurappa said that a section of the BJP seemed to think that the party could hold on to power with the support of the JD(S), which he “would not allow”.
Mr. Yeddyurappa refused to react on CBI filing a charge sheet against him, saying that he had faith in the judiciary.