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ShareBangalore: The decline of chief minister BS Yeddyurappa's authority has begun. Within 12 hours of returning to Bangalore after a truce was brokered between him and the Reddy brothers in New Delhi, Yeddyurappa was forced to lose his favourite minister, Shobha Karandlaje, to respect the compromise formula forced upon him.
Shobha's resignation was forwarded by Yeddyurappa to the governor, HR Bharadwaj, who accepted it in the afternoon, opening the doors to several concessions that the chief minister will have to yield to the Reddy brothers in the days and months to come.
But despite being forced by the Reddy camp to be the sacrificial lamb laid on the altar for a stable state government, Shobha, in an exclusive interview with DNA on Monday, said: "I feel relieved; it is a sacrifice for the people and for the party (BJP) in the state...I resolve to be a role model - like Indira Gandhi - for the womenfolk."
Although one would expect a sombre downcast person, following her exit from the ministry, Shobha was far from that. Instead, she was in a mood to take on challenges: "I will bounce back to serve the people and show that women politicians can be better than men. This setback has not deterred me at all; in fact, it has made me resolve stronger to serve the people."
She said: "I will do social work, I will go to the flood-affected areas and serve; if needed, I will even join an NGO."
On who had asked her to resign, she said it was the state party president Sadananda Gowda who sought her resignation, saying it is the decision of the high command. She said Yeddyurappa had not spoken to her at all about the issue. But as he is in charge of the cabinet, she had forwarded the resignation to Yeddyurappa.
"The only thing which hurts me is that nobody, neither the party president nor anyone from the high command, has given any reason for asking me to quit," she said.
"Even the detractors who had raised a banner of revolt, and had demanded my resignation, have not provided any proof on why I should resign," she said. "I am still waiting to know the reason behind my ouster."
Asked whether the high command has promised to accommodate her in the party organisation, or has indicated anything about her future, she said, "I do not know, because no one has contacted me. But being a loyal and dedicated worker, I have sacrificed my chair to save the government and the party complying with their demand."
Shobha's exit hurts CM
CM BS Yeddyurappa has admitted that he is "hurt" at the turn of events that forced Shobha to resign. "I am hurt as she is a hard worker and has made a sacrifice in the interest of the party and BJP government," he said.
Cabinet meeting on Nov 11
After a gap of 3 weeks, state cabinet is meeting on November 11. The first cabinet meeting after the crisis is expected to give a big push for relief works in flood affected north Karnataka. The Chief Minister will tour the flood hit areas from November 12-14.
