Days after Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa wrote to Governor Vajubhai Vala complaining about Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the two came face to face for the first time in public at Harihara on Sunday. Except for an exchange of customary pleasantries, the two senior BJP leaders from Shivamogga did not speak to each other.
The leaders shared the stage and participated in the inauguration of a community hall, a students’ hostel and a welcome arch, organised by Kaginele Mahasamsthana at Belloddi in Harihara. Mr. Eshwarappa, a Kuruba leader, has been closely associated with the Kaginele Mutt in the recent demand for Scheduled Caste status for Kurubas.
“There were no backroom talks between the leaders. They did not even speak. The Chief Minister greeted the Minister when he came face to face along with the Kaginele seer, whom Yediyurappa greeted as well,” a source in the Chief Minister’s Office, adding that even Mr. Eshwarappa was busy speaking to the seer when the Chief Minister was addressing the gathering.
The Minister’s letter to the Governor and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other BJP leaders, has created a political storm both within the party and outside. While BJP insiders in the Chief Minister’s camp have described the letter as uncalled for, the Opposition Congress has asked the Chief Minister to quit since the allegations made by Mr. Eshwarappa are serious.
Nadda’s enquiry
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told a TV channel on Saturday that the tussle between the two leaders in Karnataka would be looked into by party national president J.P. Nadda after the polls to the State Assemblies.
BJP sources said the party would try to sort out the issues between the two leaders, as well as the accusations against Mr. Yediyurappa’s style of functioning, only after the completion of the byelections to Belagavi Lok Sabha and Maski and Basavakalyan Assembly constituencies. The issue is likely to come up for discussion when the BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Arun Singh, arrives here this week to review the party’s preparations for the bypolls. “Mr. Singh’s schedule is packed. We are not sure whether something will happen on this immediately,” a party leader said.
Another party leader, who is close to Mr. Yediyurappa, said the onus was now on Mr. Eshwarappa to tender an unconditional apology, without which his continuation in the Cabinet would be untenable. “I am not going into the merit of the case. When he has questioned the Chief Minister in his communication to the Governor, the Prime Minister and others, how he can morally continue as a Minister?” the leader asked.
However, Mr. Eshwarappa has already made it clear that he would not be cowed by such threats.
