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BJP top leadership asks BSY to go

Last Updated 27 July 2011, 19:38 IST

At the lengthy meeting which began at 11:40 pm, BJP president Nitin Gadkari is understood to have informed the chief minister that the leadership has taken a decision that he should go. However, Yeddyurappa put up a defence saying that there was nothing new in the Lokayukta report and most of the cases mentioned therein were pending before courts.

Gadkari is understood to have told Yeddyurappa that the party leadership, from veteran L K Advani downwards, is unanimous that he should quit. Advani is said to have even told Gadkari that if Yeddyurappa did not resign, he would not enter Parliament during the monsoon session.

However, a belligerent chief minister told the leaders that he was prepared to get the Assembly dissolved and face the consequences. It is with this resolve that a defiant Yeddyurappa has convened a meeting of the State Cabinet and would leave Delhi on Thursday at 11:30 am.

The meeting at Gadkari’s house was attended by senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitely, Ramlal and Dharmendra Pradhan. Yeddyurappa was accompanied by state leaders K S Eshwarappa, Jagdish Shettar, Suresh Kumar and Dhananjay Kumar besides state party core committee members Satish and Santosh. The chief minister, who reached Gadkari’s house in a convoy of cars, flashed victory sign, trying to put up a facade of confidence. Before leaving for the meeting, he told reporters there was “no question” of him resigning and claimed that all the party MLAs were with him.

Asked by reporters whether he was submitting his resignation, the CM shot back: “Why should I resign, all the MLAs are with me, the party is with me. There is no question of resignation. I will explain to the party leader Gadkari and others my views. I am innocent and I will prove my innocence in this entire episode.”

Gadkari’s reasoning to Yeddyurappa to quit came after the BJP leadership had made  up its mind  in this regard.

Yeddyurappa’s continuation is viewed in the party as “weakening” of the BJP’s battle against corruption.and the Congress party. Over the last few days, pressure mounted on the party president to act as he is seen to have remained indecisive on the issue.

The idea of Yeddyurappa facing fresh mandate has not found favour with the central leadership of the party which wanted Yeddyurappa to first step down.

The issue was discussed “informally” among the top leaders during the day and in the evening during the Parliamentary Board meeting at senior party leader L K Advani’s Prithviraj road residence.

This was conveyed to the chief minister in the evening. The issue of Lokayukta’s report did not come up before the Board, said BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman.

The official response of chief spokesman Ravishankar Prasad was that: “The party is looking into the report which has been submitted today. The moment we come to a decision, we will come back to you.”

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(Published 27 July 2011, 11:19 IST)

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