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Friday, Aug 24, 2007
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Chief Minister’s actions ruffle BJP’s feathers

Karnataka Bureau

Angry BJP Ministers threaten to quit

H.D. Kumaraswamy

Bangalore/Ramanagara: “Enough is enough” is the message that the BJP Ministers, led by Deputy Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa, sought to convey here on Thursday.

They reportedly threatened to quit en masse from the Cabinet if Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy did not adhere to the “coalition dharma”.

Mr. Kumaraswamy in turn defended his actions and told the coalition partner to refrain from repeatedly seeking assurances on transfer of power.

An upset Chief Minister at one stage (during a meeting of the Cabinet) reportedly even threatened to seek the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly. With just a month to go for the transfer of power to it, an edgy BJP sees in any action or statement by the Chief Minister a reneging of commitment to hand over power.

It took umbrage at the appointment of a member to the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) by the Chief Minister without consulting the coalition partner.

The differences between the two parties were patched up with the Chief Minister saying that he had not criticised the BJP in Gulbarga on Wednesday, as reported in a section of the media, and that in fact, the secular credentials of the Janata Dal (S) had taken a beating after he led party legislators into an alliance with the BJP. The Chief Minister also agreed to summon regular meetings of the coordination committee of the two parties, with the next meeting fixed for Friday.

The meeting of the Cabinet, scheduled to commence at 9 a.m., was delayed with the BJP Ministers first meeting at the residence of Mr. Yediyurappa and on reaching the Vidhana Soudha, staying away in protest from the Cabinet hall for over an hour until the Chief Minister came out with a clarification. The Chief Minister said he would produce the video and audio tapes of his press conference in Gulbarga as proof that he did not say what had been ascribed to him. He also said that appointment of G.T. Chandrashekharappa as KPSC member was his prerogative as it was the Janata Dal (S) that had ensured that the strength of the KPSC was increased from six to seven members.

BJP Ministers Ramachandra Gowda, Govind M. Karjol, Shashikanth Akkappa Naik, Shivanand Naik, S.A. Ravindranath, B. Nagaraj Shetty, Appasaheb Pattanashetty and S. Shivanna remained inside the Chief Minister’s chamber for more than an hour protesting the appointment.

Minister for Health R. Ashok and Minister for Higher Education D.H. Shankaramurthy mediated between the Deputy Chief Minister and the Chief Minister and succeeded in finding a solution after which the Cabinet meeting began.

Later in the day, the Chief Minister publicly reinforced his assurance to transfer power to the BJP.

“I will be free after October 3 and will be able to interact personally with you,” he told the gathering in Ramanagara, his Assembly constituency, where he had gone to inaugurate the new district.

Mr. Yediyurappa said that the ruling coalition partners were united. “We will complete the remaining 21-and-a-half months without any problems,” he said.

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