His letter to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari demanding disciplinary action against BS Yeddyurappa’s loyalists in the cabinet has backfired.
Trouble is brewing in the state BJP once again.
Chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda’s secret letter to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari demanding disciplinary action against BS Yeddyurappa’s loyalists in the cabinet has backfired, with the letter threatening to end his stint in the coveted post.
The letter—which Gowda admitted to having written three months ago—has drawn a strong reaction from the Yeddyurappa camp.
Taking advantage of the letter, Yeddyurappa loyalists have demanded Gowda to convene BJP legislature party meeting immediately to discuss the issue and other developments in the state BJP.
The Yeddyurappa camp has also launched a signature campaign to exert pressure on the party national leadership to reinstate Yeddyurappa as the chief minister. Already, more than 25 MLAs have signed the letter, said a senior minister belonging to the Yeddyurappa camp.
With the Supreme Court expected to deliver its order on the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommendation for a CBI probe into the alleged role of Yeddyurappa in the illegal mining scam on Friday, Yeddyurappa loyalists have seized the opportunity to remove Gowda from the chief minister’s post. The group has also threatened to go to Delhi to meet BJP national leaders to demand action against Gowda.
On Wednesday, Gowda tried to put up a brave front when scribes queried him about the issue. He admitted that he along with BJP state president KS Eshwarappa had indeed written a letter to party national president Nitin Gadkari against BS Yeddyurappa and his followers.
Speaking to reporters after the inauguration of Kandaya Bhavan, he maintained that it was not a secret letter. “It was not a love letter. I have not written even a love letter secretly. I am not worried about the consequences. Moreover, the letter was written three months ago. It has no news value for you now,” he said.
“I had written a letter to the party president considering the situation at that point of time. It’s common to write letters to the party top brass in my capacity as chief minister,” he maintained.
The explosive contents
In his letter to Gadkari, Sadananda Gowda had mentioned that it was impossible to tolerate the dissident activities of senior ministers like Basavaraj Bommai, Murugesh Nirani, Shobha Karandlaje, CM Udasi, Umesh Katti and MP Renukacharya.
The chief minister had sought disciplinary action against the ministers by citing several instances where they had questioned his leadership.
The letter had taken serious exception to Shobha’s speech at a function where she had termed Gowda and BJP state president KS Eshwarappa as Mir Sadak and Mallappa Shetty – both known for backstabbing Tipu Sultan and Kittur Rani Chennamma.
The letter had reminded national leaders of how a mammoth public rally was organised at the National College Grounds in Bangalore when BJP patriarch LK Advani’s Janachetana Yatra against corruption had entered the state. Shobha, Nirani, Katti, Udasi and Bommai had boycotted the rally.
The letter also recalled the incident when the party was forced to cancel the post- inaugural proceedings of the Chinthan-Manthan meeting in Bangalore on February 25, as Yeddyurappa was planning to boycott the meeting after Gadkari’s inaugural address.
Gowda and Eshwarappa also expressed their displeasure at the ‘resort politics’ that Yeddyurappa indulged in on the eve of budget session of the state legislature.
The duo, through the letter, had stated that the 6 ministers were involved in anti-party activities, including conspiracy to destabilise the BJP government, with the support of the Congress party.
“Continuance of these ministers will damage the very existence of the party in Karnataka, hence it is impossible to tolerate the indiscipline in the party. Hence, we request you to take suitable disciplinary actions forthwith to save the image of the party and its prospects in Karnataka,” the letter had urged the party president.
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