BJP postpones action against BSY loyalists

The Karnataka state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday put off its proposed action against 14 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) and seven members of legislative council (MLCs) for participating in the formal launch of the new political party by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

The party has deferred the action for a couple of days against the MLAs and MLCs. These rebels had shared the dais with Yeddyurappa when he formally launched his regional Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) at a public meeting in Haveri, about 350 km from here, on Sunday.

The BJP leaders had been saying that they would initiate disciplinary action against the party MLAs for participating in Yeddyurappa’s party launch event.

“We discussed the issue and will write to our central leadership today or tomorrow making our stand clear,” BJP state unit president K S Eshwarappa told reporters in Belgaum after a meeting of the party’s senior leaders.

The state legislature’s seven-day winter session has been going on in Belgaum’s Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (second state secretariat) from December 5.

Besides Eshwarappa, others at the meeting included chief minister Jagadish Shettar, home minister R Ashoka and former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda.

Eshwarappa said the BJP was a national party and approval of central leadership was necessary before taking any action against its members.

He said the party’s parliamentary board would meet in New Delhi in a day or two to take the final decision on the action against the rebels.

The BJP apparently wants to wait till the polling in Gujarat elections are over on December 17 as any action now against Karnataka rebels could lead to the fall of the party’s government in the state.

Including the 14 rebels, the ruling party has 118 members in the 225-member assembly. Some of the rebels have threatened that if action were taken against, they would resign to reduce the Shettar government to minority.

The state assembly elections are due in May 2013.