Central leaders divided over action against Yeddyurappa

As the latest of the now-familiar anti-party leadership statements of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa reached the Capital, his party brass was a divided lot, some sympathising with him and some strongly opposing him.

Troubled by the continuing defiance by the Lingayat leader, who is facing a CBI probe in mining cases, some senior BJP leaders said on Monday that it was time for the Central leadership to take a decision about him.

BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said: “It is an internal matter of the party and discussions are on to work out a solution.”

However, a senior leader and Rajya Sabha member maintained that Yeddyurappa “may go” if he wanted. “Doors are open. Enough is enough,” he hastened to add.

Go-slow policy

However, there is the other section which advocates a go-slow policy over the former chief minister.

“Why should we drive him out. If he goes himself, fine. He may have courted controversies and now, will be facing the CBI probe. But, name one mass leader in the State who has such a backing among the people like Yeddyurappa. He is, of course, the undisputed leader of the Lingayats,” said a leader.

The decision to hold discussions with the State leaders, MLAs and MPs and work out a solution to the problem has been entrusted to Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley.

The party did not confirm whether any Central emissary would be rushed to Bangalore. National president of the party, Nitin Gadkari, is flying abroad.

Cong reacts sharply

The Congress, on its part, reacted sharply to a statement made by Yeddyurappa praising its president Sonia Gandhi. "Neither the Congress nor its president needs a certificate from anyone. Whatever is happening in Karnataka is their own matter. It's entirely the internal matter of BJP. Let them stew in their own juice,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

“As far as Karnataka is concerned, an atmosphere of internal dissension is there since the formation of the BJP government. We definitely hope that people of the State will remember all this when elections happen there," he said.

K S Eshwarappa, BJP State President

The CBI probe might have come as a setback for Yeddyurappa. He is like a child. When he is upset or hurt he tends to make statements against others. I would like to assure Yeddyurappa that the entire party is with him. There is nothing to worry. No minister close to him will be dropped from the Cabinet.

D V Sadananda Gowda, Chief Minister

I will not make any statements until the internal crisis in the party is resolved. I am sure everything will fall in place in the next two to three days.