BSY yields for one more day

Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is said to have finally agreed to the presentation of budget by Sadananda Gowda government on Wednesday. This was announced by a Yeddyurappa loyalist Basavaraj Bommai.

The announcement came amidst the leadership crisis in the ruling BJP in Karnataka that worsened on Tuesday when loyalists of former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa boycotted the budget session on the opening day, insisting on an early legislature party meet to elect a new leader.

The legislators lodged in a private resort since Sunday decided to extend their stay till the BJP Central leadership accepts their demand for an early decision to re-instate their leader as chief minister. Yeddyurappa had rejected senior BJP leader Arun Jaitely’s request to attend the budget session, according to a source close to the leader. The BJP leadership had said it would send an emissary to resolve the crisis after the session.

However, the BJP high command convinced Yeddyurappa that Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda be allowed to present his budget tomorrow in the assembly. “The Central leadership will sending its emissary to Bangalore to resolve the leadership issue and Gowda will present the budget as scheduled,” Minister for Water Resources and Yeddyurappa loyalist Basavaraj Bommai told reporters at the resort.

The rebels decided to depute Rural Development minister Jagadish Shettar, Public Works Minister C M Udasi, MLAs — Lakshminarayan and Chandrakant Bellad — as their representatives to attend the legislature session.

Bommai defended the boycott decision, saying it was done in the wake of statements by some leaders about the number of legislators supporting Yeddyurappa, in an obvious reference to state unit BJP President K S Eswarappa remarks that about 30 MLAs were in the resort.

He claimed that more than 70 legislators supported Yeddyurappa and demanded that the BJP high command decide on convening a legislature party meet on the leadership issue. Meanwhile, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said he has been authorised by the party to present the budget tomorrow and hoped the crisis would end soon.

Meanwhile, opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda, saying his cabinet colleagues and Yeddyurappa loyalists, who abstained from house proceedings on Tuesday, “have lost faith in him.”

“The CM should resign as he has lost the confidence of his cabinet colleagues and legislators loyal to former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who abstained from attending house proceedings,” he said.

He was referring to the worsening leadership crisis in ruling BJP in Karnataka and Yeddyurappa loyalists boycotting the budget session on the opening day, insisting on an early legislature party meet to elect a new leader.

Siddaramaiah also said Gowda has no moral right to continue in office and there is ‘zero governance’ in the state. Deputy Opposition Leader T B Jayachandra objected to the delay in issuing notice on House proceedings.