Nursing the wounds inflicted by the rebellion within, chief minister BS Yeddyurappa spewed venom at the forces that unleashed their money power to destabilise his government.
The money bag politics has not just crippled the BJP government, but has changed the rules of game in the country’s political system. Nursing the wounds inflicted by the rebellion within, chief minister BS Yeddyurappa spewed venom at the forces that unleashed their money power to destabilise his government by announcing a probe into the entire drama that gripped the state in the last one week.
Yeddyurappa, who held a strategy session with his close confidants in the conference hall of Vidhana Soudha immediately after winning the trust vote, vowed to teach a lesson to those who funded the operation to topple his government.
“I know who are the elements who pumped in crores of rupees, who received the money, how it was distributed to the legislators and their family members. I am instituting a probe to uncover the entire conspiracy to topple the government,” he said.
About Rs25 crore to Rs30 crore had been paid to each legislator to change his loyalty and in many cases the money was delivered to the relatives of the legislators. “JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy behaved like Duryodhana in the entire episode. He is the most shameless politician running from Bangalore to Chennai to Goa luring the MLAs with money. The probe will expose everyone and action will be taken,” Yeddyurappa said.
Celebrating his victory in the trust vote by distributing sweets, Yeddyurappa said that that he would mend in his style of functioning by making drastic changes in administration and revamping his ministry in a big way.
Tendering an apology for the political turmoil of the last few days, he said that he would provide a responsive and responsible government for the remaining term of his tenure and ensure that similar crisis was not precipitated in the state again.
The chief minister blamed the opposition members for the unruly scenes witnessed in state assembly that led to adoption of trust vote through voice vote. “Opposition members indulged in vandalism out of desperation after realising that they could not defeat the trust vote. Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah and others stood on the table and abused me, my ministerial colleagues and the speaker. It was an insult to the legislature and sullied the image of the state,” he said.
The free use of a fleet of helicopters, chartered aircrafts and five-star hotel stays of the masterminds and the players in the political drama have only revealed the naked dance of money power in politics. It is not just the opposition parties that dangled the bait of currency note-filled suitcases, as several legislators from the JD(S) vouched for their experiences over the past three days.
According to sources in the ruling BJP, the mining lobby which had been suffering huge losses every day after the state government banned the export of iron ore pumped in about Rs500 crore to bring down the government. Resources and logistics were never a problem throughout the operation as key players Kumaraswamy, Renukacharya and Janardhana Reddy flew from one city to another to woo the rebels.
The BJP too did not lag behind in launching the counter attack. JD(S) MLA Sunil Hegde said he was approached by a BJP minister with an offer of Rs45 crore per legislator.
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