Shettar, Karjol slam Eshwarappa for letter

Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar and Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol have slammed Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa for writing a letter to Governor Vajubhai Vala against Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa regarding the fund’s allocation for his department.

They said Eshwarappa is a senior minister in the Cabinet and he could have raised the issue in the Cabinet meeting with the chief minister to get his grievances resolved.

Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Shettar said the chief minister’s prerogative cannot be questioned. “We are progressing under the leadership of the chief minister. Eshwarappa, instead of writing a letter, could have spoken with Yediyurappa on this and discussed it in the Cabinet meeting. The discussions on the topic should have been inside four walls and writing the letter is not fair.”

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He said the tussle between Yediyurappa and Eshwarappa over the fund’s issue will not have any bearing on the by-election of Belgaum Lok Sabha Constituency and assembly constituencies of Maski and Basavkalyan.

Karjol said the Cabinet members and elected representatives cannot question the prerogative of the chief minister and a senior minister writing letter does not appear good. “All Cabinet members have to work in unity with the chief
minister. Funds have been allocated for 33 departments in the budget, but funds, as sought by all 224 MLAs, could not be given. Anybody, if they need more funds for their constituencies, should talk to the chief minister.”