Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa stated in New Delhi that there is no threat to his post. However, this would come at a price, since the Reddy faction -- consisting of Karnataka Speaker Jagadish Shettar, Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy and Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, who are spearheading the rebellion within the state BJP to oust Yeddyurappa -- with the support of nearly 67 MLAs are still looking for a hard bargain.
Ruling out change in leadership in dissidence-hit Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday said he was ready to discuss issues with anybody to resolve the problem, including the Reddy brothers, who have been spearheading the revolt.
It is now certain that Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa will continue as chief minister of Karnataka. The party high command headed by Rajnath Singh and L K Advani have made it clear that Yeddyurappa will continue as the chief minister of Karnataka.
Some BJP leaders believe the issue is not about Yeddyurappa's moves to contain the mining interests of the Reddy brothers in Bellary. The Rajnath Singh camp, which is pitted in a bitter battle with the Advani camp, has been accusing former Union minister Ananth Kumar, who is close to Advani, of triggering the crisis.
Representatives of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday met senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in New Delhi and claimed they had been assured that he will not be removed in the wake of dissidence in the state unit.
The deadlock between Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the mining tycoons Reddy brothers of Bellary continued on Wednesday, with the latter going ahead with the foundation stone-laying programme for the construction of houses for the flood victims in North Karnataka.
'The BJP is using all the central agencies at its disposal (to undermine us).' 'We are also taking care that our MLAs are not poached.'
'This minority government will be for only 15 days.' 'By that time, its motion of confidence will be defeated, and it will have to resign.' 'Therefore, the swearing-in is a waste of money, energy and time.'
Torrential rains continued to wreak havoc in northern Karnataka with 35 more deaths being reported from the region since Thursday night, pushing up the rain-related toll in the state to 86. Eight people were killed in Raichur, six in Bagalkote, five in Bellary, four each in Bijapur, Gulbarga and Gadag and two each in Koppal and Bidar. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa held an emergency meeting, where Air Force and Army officials were present, besides state ministers.
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers of various Indian states on Thursday paid glowing tributes to Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, while many states declared mourning and a Holiday, as a mark of respect to the leader killed in a helicopter crash.
The Bharatiya Janata Party which never loses an opportunity to accuse arch-rival Congress of perpetuating dynastic politics, too has fielded candidates who have been allotted tickets on the basis of their family legacy. As many as three Lok Sabha candidates from the BJP are sons of former or serving chief ministers.
The Janata Dal-Secular on Tuesday charged Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa with violating the model code of conduct by addressing individual letters to beneficiaries of old age pension scheme and said it would complain to the Election Commission about it.
Four fresh cases of attacks on churches, including three in Bengaluru, were reported in Karnataka since Saturday night even as security was scaled up toensure trouble-free Sunday prayers, two days after the Centre asked the state government to rein in communal forces.
Gupta said that the Karnataka situation was being closely monitored by the Home Ministry and that the state government has been told to report back to the Centre on the steps to check attacks on the churches and prayer halls.
U R Ananthamurthy, one of India's greatest writers and a leading figure in contemporary Kannada literature, is 'saddened and disgusted' by the moral policing in his beloved state. Moral policing is a parental duty, he says, not a governmental one.
"The Karnataka government has already initiated strong action against the unacceptable act of hooliganism that took place in Mangalore. The BJP condemns the incident in totality," BJP President Rajnath Singh told media persons in Bangalore.
There appears to be no solution in sight to the ongoing crisis in the Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party.
Karnataka may well see the return of a coalition government, thanks to the existing crisis. Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party say that even if the high command manages to find a solution to this problem, it will be short-lived and the crisis could commence after three months.
B S Yeddyurappa faces his biggest crisis after creating history over a year ago by becoming the first Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister in South India. His seat has been threatened by the Reddy brothers of Bellary, who are in no mood for a compromise and are openly seeking a leadership change in Karnataka. Although the Reddy brothers and Yeddyurappa have been at logger heads in the past, the current crisis appears to be the worst.
Describing the victory of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in five of the eight assembly constituencies in the Dec 27 bypoll as a "positive vote for stability and development", Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday declared an end to its "operation lotus" under which it lured leaders of other parties into its fold.
At a grand rally in Bangalore to commemorate the completion of a year in office, B S Yeddyurappa listed out achievements as the chief minister and also clarified on various aspects, including Operation Lotus, for which the party had drawn flak from the Opposition. Funnily enough, the chief minister also clarified as to why he hardly ever smiled and kept a grim face always.
The accent on 'making the south feel wanted' was the reason why P Muralidhar Rao, who was dropped as general secretary, was partially reinstated in the central apparatus as prabhari in charge of Madhya Pradesh. 'Pressure from the RSS was brought to bear on Rao's return,' a source said. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
While red alert has been sounded in Karnataka, Orissa, Pune and Goa are on high alert.
Eyewitnesses told rediff.com that the slain farmer, Siddalingappa Chennappa Choori, was not in the mob when the incident occurred. The incident takes place two weeks after B S Yeddyurappa assumed office as Karnataka chief minister.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday hit out at the Centre accusing it of meting out 'step motherly' treatment to the state. The Centre had not responded to the state's plea for financial assistance to tackle the drought and floods so far whereas it obliged the neighbouring states, the chief minister charged at a press conference in Bangalore.
Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa will be up against Geetha Shivrajkumar, the daughter-in-law of actor Dr Rajkumar and daughter of former chief minister S Bangarappa. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Yeddyurappa will meet Governor Rameshwar Thakur at Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to form the government. Meanwhile, backdoor negotiations continue to lure more independents into the party so that the BJP has the requisite number to prove its majority on the floor of the House.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the state has no plans to follow in Gujarat's footsteps and ban the book. He was speaking at a press conference on the just concluded by-elections in Karnataka.
Yeddyurappa's comments come in the wake of the arrest of four terror suspects, allegedly belonging to Indian Mujahideen, at Mangalore. The four were arrested by Mumbai and Karnataka police in a joint operation on Friday for their alleged involvement in serial blasts in Delhi.
A historic Cabinet meeting of the B S Yeddyurappa cabinet is underway in Gulbarga. A cabinet meeting is being held in Gulbarga in Northern Karnataka after 26 years.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa who announced this following a Cabinet meeting said that IB sleuths had been directed to keep a tab on the activities of both Samuel and Sangliana, who incidentally was the former police commissioner of Bengaluru.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday urged Christian missionaries not to go for forcible conversion saying there is no room for such actions in a democracy. "There is no room for forcible conversion in democracy. No one should indulge in it," he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party, making desperate attempts to come back to power at the Centre, is going by the stars and planetary positions, to ensure that a key conclave beginning in Bangalore on Friday brings good luck. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, an astrology enthusiast, has taken extra pains to avoid 'Rahu Kalam' (inauspicious period) during the three-day meet, party sources said.
The chief minister released a report card in which the achievements of the government were listed out. Yeddyurappa said most promises made to voters had been fulfilled and in the days to come, people could expect more good things from his government.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday described the new Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) as 'shoddy' compared to other airports in the country.
In the wake of threats by some outfits to organise protests on Valentine's Day, the Centre on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to take "preventive and punitive" action to ensure law and order.
The death of his wife four years ago under mysterious circumstances has returned to haunt Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, with a local court ordering a fresh probe. The order by a magistrate came on a petition filed by advocate Sheshadri, alleging that the evidence was fabricated and that there had been a conspiracy to murder Mythra Devi.Yeddyurappa was the leader of the Opposition at the time of the incident.
Asserting that he always favoured cordial relations with neighbouring states, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday suggested chief minister-level talks in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a negotiated settlement to the Hogenakkal issue with Tamil Nadu.
While the Congress has convened a meeting of all its MLAs on Wednesday to take stock of the evolving situation, the BJP legislators have been shifted to Haryana in an attempt to keep the flock together and thwart any poaching attempt by the Congress-JDS combine.
While Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told the state assembly that he would convene an all-party meet in Karnataka on the Hogenakkal issue, Minister for Energy K S Eswarappa, replying to a Congress member, said the project was "illegal."
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