To target Congress on graft, BJP decides to dump BSY

TNN

New Delhi / Bangalore, 26 July 2011: BJP seems set to get rid of Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, in a move shaped by its desire to step up its offensive against Congress on the issue of corruption.

 

Sources in the party said the leadership has decided to ask Yeddyurappa to step down on Wednesday after Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde releases its report indicting the chief minister in the mining scam.

 

BJP seems set to get rid of Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, in a move shaped by its desire to step up its offensive against Congress on the issue of corruption

 

Sources said BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, who spoke with the chief minister after his return from Mauritius, had been assured by the latter that he would abide by the wishes of the central leadership which has been accused of double standards for ignoring the charges against the Lingayat strongman at a time when it has launched a high-wattage campaign against Congress on corruption.

 

Sources said party general secretary Ananth Kumar and state party chief K S Eshwarappa along with rural development minister Jagdish Shettar were in contention for the chief ministership, stressing that Yeddyurappa’s views would be a big factor in deciding the issue.

 

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Gadkari confirmed this much, stressing that the chief minister had agreed to follow whatever he (Gadkari) decided. Speaking to reporters in Bangalore hours later, Yeddyurappa confirmed that he had indeed given a commitment to follow Gadkari’s decision.

 

Significantly, Gadkari said his decision on Karnataka leadership would be based on the Lokayukta report. With Justice Hegde having already confirmed reports that the Lokayukta’s report into the mining scam has indicted the chief minister along with others, there is little doubt as to the call that Gadkari will take. He raised the ante against corruption further by targeting the PM, something which shows that the BJP would not like to leave a chink in its side.

 

Yeddyurappa, who has so far shrugged aside demands for his resignation, kept up his defiance. Making his first public appearance since the Lokayukta’s report censuring him for the mining scam became known, he asserted that he was going to be the chief minister for another two years. "I am going to be the chief minister for another two years," he said.

 

He also gamely offered an independent investigation into the charge that his government tapped the Lokayukta’s phones, saying that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should get the matter investigated by a committee including his rivals S M Krishna and H D Devegowda as well as the Lokayukta himself.

 

However, the central leadership, including party veteran L K Advani, is clear on replacing him this time. Its estimate is that while Yeddyurappa is sure to resist, he will eventually come around. To facilitate a smooth transfer of power, the leadership is ready to accommodate his views on who should be his successor.

 

While Gadkari asserted in Delhi that his decision would not be influenced by popular opinion, it is clearly the party’s anxiety not to relax the pressure on Congress on corruption that has tipped the scales against Yeddyurappa who survived so many threats to his hold on power.

 

A significant section in the party still holds that the chief minister has been more sinned against than he actually has. Sources stressed that contrary to the requirements of justice, the Lokayukta gave Yeddyurappa no opportunity to defend himself.

 

Sources also emphasized that the donations made by a mining company to Yeddyurappa’s family trust was one among many that the body, a reputed entity which runs several educational institutions in Shimoga, received.

 

Likewise, it is pointed out that the one acre that Yeddyurappa government released for the son of the chief minister was part of an 100-acre plot that had already been de-reserved under successive non-BJP chief ministers.

 

However, the party recognizes that there is little profit in defending Yeddyurappa who in popular perception has come to symbolize "saffron corruption". The party has consistently been taunted by Congress and its other political rivals for not asking the chief minister to step down, saying that the indulgence shown to him conflicts with the standards party has laid down for others.

 

Justice Hegde’s other role, being the leading light of the campaign for Lokpal, has only complicated matters. The party supported the popular push for the anti-graft ombudsman, and is finding it difficult to engage him in a confrontation now that he has given an adverse finding against a party chief minister.