“There is no confirmation about Cabinet expansion after Makara Sankranti. But senior leadership will take a decision soon,” Laxman Savadi, Deputy CM and BJP leader, said in Belagavi on friday.
According to him, the visit of Home Minister Amit Shah to Karnataka on January 16 and 17, was not related to the expansion. He is coming to felicitate BJP workers who have won GP polls and to encourage the cadre as part of the Jan Sevak events.
CM B.S. Yediyurappa will inaugurate the Jan Sevak rally in Mysuru on January 11. Mr. Shah will participate in valedictory event on January 16 in Bengaluru. He is expected to visit Belagavi on January 17, to speak to party workers, Mr. Savadi said.
He described as uninformed, the statement of Ramesh Jarkiholi, district in-charge Minister that the BJP had lost a majority of GP seats in Chikkodi, Nippani and surrounding areas. “BJP may have lost a few seats in Nippani, but not in Chikkodi, he said. We have won 75-80% seats in Chikkodi region,” the Dy.CM said.
On Yuvaraj Swamy
“Yuvaraj Swamy, the alleged swindler, met and wished me at my swearing-in,” Mr. Savadi said in Belagavi on Friday.
“Though Swamy told others that he had worked in the BJP and RSS, he did not tell me that. Several people come to meet me as I am a legislator and Minister. Thousands come to us with garlands and take pictures and we cannot say no,” he added.
“I did not know his character then. If I did, I would not have met him. Though he has claimed before others that he knows some leaders in the BJP due to his work, he did not make such claims before me. In fact, he has not claimed his alleged BJP RSS links before BJP members like us. He has claimed those links before his victims who he has allegedly cheated,” Mr Savadi said. To a question he replied that there was no clear information about the complaint that a leader from Belagavi had given money to Swamy for the BJP ticket. “That is all hearsay. Has any investigation officer confirmed this? Truth will come out only after a detailed inquiry,” he said.
Bengaluru CCB police have arrested Swamy on charges of defrauding and swindling money from influential persons.
