Janardhana Reddy makes veiled attack on Yeddyurappa

Striking a discordant note hours after chief minister BS Yeddyurappa earned a reprieve from the BJP high command, tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy today disapproved of mutt heads lending support to him.

"Truth always protects honest and loyal people. But those who deserted honesty and loyalty should be removed," Reddy, who had raised a banner of revolt against the chief minister last year, said at a function in his stronghold of Bellary but did not name Yeddyurappa.

"How far is it correct for mutt heads to take to the streets to justify dishonest people," he asked, in an apparent reference to some heads of Lingayat mutt, who had publicly lent their support to Yeddyurappa and threatened backlash if he was removed from chief ministership.

"If people of one community (Lingayats to which the chief minister belongs) stages agitation in favour of one party (BJP), it's interpreted that it's confined to (that) one community. This is not correct," Reddy said in his comments seen as taking a swipe at Yeddyurappa.

Asked for his reaction here to Reddy's remarks, Yeddyurappa, who appeared to have weathered the storm in the wake of Opposition onslaught over alleged land scams involving his family, declined to comment.