Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa ignores ‘dissidence,’ says he’s too busy with work

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa appeared to remain indifferent to the dissident activity by a faction of BJP legislators, saying that he was not worried about such developments.

"I am busy working for the development of the state and controlling the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, I have decided not to worry about such developments and will not issue any statement regarding the same," Yediyurappa told a news conference he addressed to mark the first anniversary of the second term of the Modi administration.

Yediyurappa's remarks came in the wake of meetings held by a faction of 'disgruntled' legislators from north Karnataka last week, such as former ministers Umesh Katti and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. While Katti has rubbished dissidence, Yatnal dropped enough hints of being unhappy with Yediyurappa's leadership.

Giving the Covid-19 pandemic precedence over party affairs is seen as Yediyurappa's attempt to not only play down disgruntlement among senior MLAs, but also a way of telling them that this was not the time to frown over expanding the Cabinet and other matters.

Yediyurappa also rejected claims that the state faced a shortage of Covid-19 testing kits. He said this when asked if it was the shortage of the kits that made the government send people home from quarantine without any tests.

Yediyurappa's deputy Laxman Savadi, whose induction into the Cabinet has caused much heartburn within the party, said expressing aspirations and discussing political changes would not amount to dissidence. Cooperation minister S T Somashekar also dismissed talk of factionalism and disgruntlement within the state BJP unit.