Soon after the State Cabinet meeting on Thursday, at least six Ministers, whose resignations were responsible for bringing down the previous Congress–JD(S) coalition government and putting the incumbent government in power, were huddled with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
This gained significance with news running thick and wild about the possible resignation of Mr. Yediyurappa and when it would happen. Among those present were N. Nagaraju (MTB), K. Gopalaiah, K. Sudhakar, Shivaram Hebbar, Byrathi Basavaraj, and B.C. Patil.
However, they took pains to explain that their visit was not political but administrative. They rubbished rumours of them being ready to resign.
“If the Chief Minister himself is stepping down, the Cabinet will be dissolved and a new Council of Ministers will come. There is no reason for us to resign now,” a Minister explained.
On their plan if Mr. Yediyurappa resigned, Dr. Sudhakar, Health and Family Welfare Minister, speaking on behalf of Ministers who came from other parties, said, “We came to the BJP by accepting Mr. Yediyurappa’s leadership as well as the party ideology. We will abide by whatever the high command decides with respect to the leadership change issue.” When asked if they would go to Delhi to plead their case with the central leadership, he said, “We will go to Delhi if there is a need.”
Meanwhile, against the speculation that the Chief Minister would discuss the current political climate in the State during the Cabinet meeting, the discussions did not digress away from the agenda, it is learnt.
“We did not digress into political issues,” said Home, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Three other Ministers also said that Mr. Yediyurappa did not bring up the topic. “Whatever he had to say, he had already spoken before the media. There was nothing much he could speak in the Cabinet,” a senior Minister said.
