In another twist to the factional fight in the State BJP over the demand for a leadership change, Arvind Bellad, MLA, identified with the camp disgruntled with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, on Thursday alleged that his phone was being tapped.
Mr. Bellad has filed a complaint with Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, besides the police, seeking an inquiry.
“The Assembly Speaker and the Home Minister are the two authorities who have to look into such issues and help me in carrying out my responsibilities as MLA,” he told reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday.
While the complaint was filed on June 14, he made it public when party national general secretary Arun Singh was holding a troubleshooting exercise in the State. The MLA also alleged that a few persons were monitoring his movements.
Mysterious call
Mr. Bellad further alleged that there was a conspiracy to “fix” him. He said that when he recently called a number from which he received missed a call, it was answered by a man who claimed to be Yuvaraj Swami. “Immediately I disconnected the call thinking that he should be the controversial Yuvaraj who is in jail,” he said.
Mr. Bellad claimed that he received a call again from the same person who said he had been jailed wrongfully.
Wondering how a person in prison could have access to a mobile phone, Mr. Bellad suspected that Yuvaraj calling him could be a “plot to fix” him.
Yuvraj Swami is accused of cheating government job aspirants by claiming to be an RSS leader.
“Though my father was a five-time MLA, he never had a black spot in his career. My political life too is spotless. Some people are trying to fix me through such efforts,” he alleged.
Responding sharply to these allegations, Chief Minister’s political secretary M.P. Renukacharya, MLA, remarked that Mr. Bellad was resorting to cheap publicity gimmicks through such allegations.
Party State general secretary N. Ravikumar too asserted that the party would not accept his allegations. “We have complete confidence in our legislators. There is no question of tracking their movements,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, former MLA and Mr. Arvind Bellad’s father, Chandrakanth Bellad, said if the BJP high command so wished, it would be apt for Mr. Yediyurappa to tender his resignation as Chief Minister.
On the issue of his son being in the race for the chief ministership, Mr. Chandrakanth Bellad said that it was left to the discretion of the high command.
