BJP bosses to wait till Supreme Court decision on CEC report

The BJP central leadership is likely to wait for the Supreme Court decision on the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) report, which recommended probe by an independent agency against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, before taking any decision on the Lingayat leader’s fate in the party.

A senior leader in the party told Deccan Herald, “though the CEC suggested probe from an independent agency against Yeddyurappa’s involvement in denotification and other cases, the Supreme Court is yet to pronounce its decision on the report.

The party will wait till the apex court’s order before deciding on giving any position to Yeddyurappa in the organisation.

The Supreme Court’s green bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia had on Friday refused to pass any direction on CEC report saying that a special leave petition filed against the Karnataka High Court’s order quashing the Lokayukta FIR against Yeddyurappa would come up before the apex court on Monday, April 23.

The SLP was filed by JD(S) worker D M Vishwanath. The green bench, which is currently hearing the issue pertaining to rehabilitation and reclamation of iron ore mines in Karnataka, is likely to sit on
April 27.

Ever since the CEC filed its report before the Supreme Court, the number of Yeddyurappa supporters is dwindling in the party’s central leadership.

But many still feel that instead of taking any hurried decision to dump the former chief minister, it is better to wait for some more time. Though the party has a strong reason for not reinstating him as the chief minister, a section of leaders still favour him to give him a suitable position in the organisation to use his clout in the next Assembly polls.  

Hoping that Yeddyurappa may lie low following the CEC report, the party is also toying with the idea of asking the State leaders to solve their problems by themselves instead of bringing it to Delhi.

The central leaders of the party may leave the issue of Cabinet expansion also to the State leaders, party sources said.