Yeddyurappa keeps BJP govt on tenterhooks

Keeping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on tenterhooks, Karnataka Janata Party President B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday declined to divulge whether some more Ministers and MLAs loyal to him would quit. “Those who are interested in the development of the state can join my party”, he told reporters here after 12 former BJP mlas, including two former ministers, who resigned from the assembly membership, joined his party. Besides C M Udasi and Shobha Karandlaje, 10 other MLAs, whose resignations were accepted by the Speaker on January 29, became KJP primary members on Thursday. He also welcomed Vittala Katakadonda, whose resignation was not accepted on ‘technical’ reasons by the Speaker K G Bopaiah, to join his party. Yeddyurappa lashed out at Bopaiah for delaying acceptance of resignation of 13 MLAs at the “behest” of the ruling party and his absence from office since yesterday.

“The ruling party has directed the Speaker to leave Bangalore for Madikeri fearing resignation of some more BJP legislators,” he said. “No other Speaker has behaved in such a fashion in the annals of Indian political history,” Yeddyurappa claimed.

Thirteen MLAs had met the Speaker in his office at he State secretariat on January 29 and tendered their resignations from the Assembly membership in person, several hours after which they were accepted. The resignation of Vittala Katakadonda was not accepted for ‘technical reasons’.

Replying to a query, Yeddyurappa said he would not meet Governor H R Bhardwaj and it is up to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar to decide on whether he wants to continue in office or not. Yeddyurappa demanded that the Shettar government publish a ‘white paper’ on the state’s financial status and claimed that non-plan expenditure exceeded plan expenditure.