''I will bring it to the notice of the party high command and recommend some kind of acton against them and their supporters,'' he said, adding ''these people are jealous of my achievements and they cannot tolerate it.'' . Mr Yaddyurappa who took strong exception to the statements by both Revenue Minister G Karunakar Reddy and Tourism Minister G Janardhan Reddy said he would bring it to the notice of the party High Command at the earliest. The Chief Minister said the rehabilitation works and the shifting of 226 villages in North Karnataka would be completed in November.
he Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka plunged into a crisis on Wednesday after the Reddy brothers, Karunakara Reddy and The tax levied by the state government on the iron-ore mined from the Bellary district to fund the flood-relief work and alleged interference of rural development and panchayati raj minister Shobha Karandlaje in the work are issues which have turned the brothers against Mr Yeddyurappa. The two sides were not willing to back down from their positions and BJP Rajya Sabha leader Arun Jaitley, who was rushed to Bangalore on Wednesday morning by the BJP’s central leadership, held separate discussions with them. Till late Wednesday, he was unable to find a way out in view of the intractable stance adopted by both sides. Hours before Mr Jaitley landed in Bangalore, Mr Yeddyurappa, in a demonstration of an enough-is-enough attitude, ordered the abrupt transfer of five officials, including the deputy commissioner and Bellary police superintendent, in a move seen as striking at tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy and his brother, revenue minister G Karunakara Reddy, who hail from the mine-rich district. Mr Yeddyurappa also shunted out the health department principal secretary I R Perumal, apparently targeting health minister B Sreeramulu, who’s considered close to the Reddy brothers. ``It is an administrative exercise. There is nothing special about it. We wanted some good officers in Bellary to implement relief work in flood hit areas. It doesn’t mean that those who were transferred are not good officials,’’ Mr Yeddyurappa told reporters defending the action. The Reddy brothers struck back, going ahead with their plans to launch a housing scheme in Bellary by laying the foundation at a village near Siruguppa for constructing 50,000 low-cost homes at a cost of Rs 500 crore for those affected by the recent floods. They did not even bother to invite the chief minister for the function, indicating a deepening of the crisis. Their action was being seen in political circles here as their response to the ambitious housing project, christened `Asraya,’ unveiled by the chief minister to build over two lakh low-cost dwellings across the state. The Reddy brothers reportedly wanted the government to stay away from the districts of Raichur, Bellary, Koppal and Gadag, which have come to be viewed as their turf, and leave the job to them. Seeking to downplay the action of the Reddy brothers, Mr Yeddyurappa said, ``it is also a government programme. Every minister in charge of districts has been given a free hand to take up relief works. It includes Bellary also.’’ Mr Janardhana Reddy, however, has already declared that they would mobilise funds for the housing construction from mine owners and other donors. ``It is our contribution to the affected people in Bellary’’, he had said. Mr Yeddyurappa deputed home minister V S Acharya and law minister S Suresh Kumar to hold parleys with speaker Jagdish Shettar, whom the dissidents have been projecting as their chief ministerial candidate to replace Mr Yeddyurappa. | |
| triking back at the rebels within the BJP, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday summarily transferred senior administration officials of Bellary, besides the Health Department Principal Secretary considered close to the Reddy brothers. | |
| Yeddyurappa’s action was more in the nature of a strong and unequivocal message to his detractors within the party-government, especially the Reddy brothers, that he would not be cowed down by threats of splitting the party and endangering the government. In a related development, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar is believed to have turned down an offer of ministership, a ‘gift’ for making an effort to patch up differences within the chief minister. Sources close to Shettar said the Speaker conveyed to Home Minister V S Acharya and Urban Development Minister Suresh Kumar that “there is nothing in my hand. I cannot take any individual decision at this juncture”. Acharya and Suresh Kumar were despatched to Shettar’s residence by the CM as emissaries. Shettar is believed to have expressed his displeasure over the manner in which he has been “treated” over the past two years. “Where were you all these days when injustice was meted out to me. Now you have come to me offering the portfolio of my choice. I know you have approached me because of the crisis in the party and the government. But I am not impressed with this,” he is understood to have told the two ministers. Major change Sensing a possible change in the political dynamics, Shettar has begun cobbling support of Lingayat religious mutts in Mysore and Tumkur in an effort to emerge as an alternative to Yeddyurappa. Sources close to him said that there would be a “major change” in the party in the weeks ahead. A section of MLAs, who are ranged against the CM, are likely to have an informal meeting at Shettar’s residence on Thursday. In the absence of Health Minister B Sriramulu, Yeddyurappa chaired a meeting of government doctors here on Thursday, granting their wish for salary increase. The Health Minister said that 60 more officials in various capacities of Bellary district are likely to be transferred by Thursday. Undeterred by the CM’s action, the Bellary siblings went ahead with the foundation stone laying ceremony for the housing project for the flood victims of Bellary. Concerned with the rift in the state unit of the party, BJP ace trouble shooter Arun Jaitley rushed to Bangalore, closeting himself with Yeddyurappa and then holding a separate meeting with Karunakara Reddy, who helihopped from Bellary on Jaitley’s direction. After the meetings, while interacting with the media, Jaitley emphatically said the BJP government will continue to function under the leadership of Yeddyurappa. However, he said no one, including Reddy, placed a demand for change in leadership. Jaitley said that certain issues were raised which the party intended to resolve. The central BJP leader is expected to hold a meeting with Shettar on Thursday. Showering praise on the Yeddyurappa government, Jaitley maintained that the state administration had done “remarkably good work” while tackling the floods. But he was quick to add that the government needed to be stabilised for all flood-related work. AP govt notice to Janardhana Reddy The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department has served a show-cause notice on State Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy on alleged illegal mining by his Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), reports DHNS from Bellary. Ananthpur DFO Kallol Biswas confirmed on Wednesday that the show-cause notice had been issued. He wanted to know why action should not be taken against Reddy for lifting high-quality ore valued at Rs 25 crore from BIOP mining area and illegal construction of a road in the forest area in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh border. According to sources, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has sought review of some controversial files, including one on OMC, of which Reddy is the managing director. | |
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