BJP won’t dislodge coalition government: BSY

BJP state president and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, B S Yeddyurappa, on Wednesday said his party was not trying to destabilise the JD(S)-Congress coalition government.

Speaking to reporters, Yeddyurappa said the Congress leadership, having failed to resolve the simmering discontentment within a section of the party, has been accusing the BJP of trying to dislodge the government

Yeddyurappa said, he had come to Belagavi to elicit views of the party workers on the candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and not to hold talks with the disgruntled former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi.

Miffed at being dropped from the Cabinet, Jarkiholi had been hinting that he would quit the Congress, leading to speculation that he may join the BJP.

“I will hold party meetings here and proceed to Vijayapura on Thursday. I will leave for Delhi on Friday and submit a report to the national leadership on the aspirants for party ticket for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” he said.

Yeddyurappa said the BJP is not concerned about the developments in the Congress. “We have not contacted any disgruntled Congress legislator nor anyone from there has approached us. We are adopting a wait and watch approach. We are working as the Opposition in the state,” he said.

Yeddyurappa denied reacting to statements made by party leader and MLA Umesh Katti that the coalition government will collapse in a week’s time.

He said Katti had been giving statements in his individual capacity, hence he would not react to them.

He said the coalition government had been misguiding the people on the crop loan waiver and farmers were getting notices to repay the loans.

Speaking to reporters in Chikkodi, newly inducted minister Satish Jarkiholi said that he would talk to his brother Ramesh Jarkiholi in a day or two as it was inevitable to address the discontentment in the Congress over the Cabinet expansion.

Satish said that Ramesh was dropped from the Cabinet since he did not perform well as a minister.

“It is natural for him to be discontented. I have not met him since the Cabinet rejig. But, I will speak to him and convince him,” he said.