In the midst of the rising speculation over a change of leadership in the State, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday argued that building such a narrative during the pandemic was wrong. He also maintained that such discussions have not taken place in the BJP.
His response came following his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the weekend, after he was summoned by the party high command for discussions. Mr. Bommai and BJP vice-president B.Y. Vijayendra, younger son of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, were in Delhi for confabulations, triggering speculation about a change of guard in the State. “I want to make it clear that no political issues were discussed during the meeting. It was not our focus to discuss politics during the times of COVID-19,” he told presspersons on Monday. “It is wrong to think about these issues during now. It is a lie.”
Asked if he himself was in the race for the top spot, he said he did not want to respond to speculation.
On the other hand, Mr. Bommai said that the discussions in the capital revolved around the action being initiated in the State to handle the pandemic. “We gave him the full details about COVID-19 management. He expressed his satisfaction over how things are being handled, but was also anxious about the growing number of people being affected by the virus,” he said.
The Minister said the discussion revolved around the oxygen needs of the State. While the Centre has allocated 965 tonnes of oxygen, the State has sought to utilise the oxygen produced in Karnataka. “We explained that getting oxygen from outside the State has become difficult,” Mr. Bommai said.
Furthermore, he said the Centre was told about the problems in distribution of oxygen due to shortage of tankers. “Four tankers have been sanctioned yesterday, and the Centre has promised to provide 10 more in the coming days since they have to be converted from nitrogen tankers to carry oxygen. Mr. Shah has asked the two tankers that came from Bahrain to be used and informed us that two tankers coming from Kuwait, carrying 40 metric tonnes, would be diverted to Mangaluru.”
The Centre, Mr. Bommai said, has also assured the State of increasing its Remdesivir quota and ensuring complete support in handling the pandemic.
