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Saturday 12 May 2012

7 Karnataka ministers loyal to BS Yeddyurappa quit

Bangalore: In escalation of factional feud in ruling BJP in Karnataka, seven Karnataka ministers loyal to former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa quit on Saturday in a bid to put pressure on DV Sadananda Gowda government.

Sources said two more ministers could send their resignations to the Chief Minister. The move is being seen as a pressure tactic by Yeddyurappa for getting more cabinet berths for his loyalists.

Sources also added that former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa is contemplating resigning from the state assembly.

The Yeddyurappa loyalists, who have been pressing their demand after Gowda complained to BJP President Nitin Gadkari about the "anti-party" activities indulged in by some ministers, have decided to come out of the ministry, sources in Yeddyurappa camp said.

Ministers Shobha Karandlaje, Basavaraj Bommai, Umesh Katti, C M Udasi, V Somanna, M P Renukacharya and Murugesh Nirani submitted their resignation letters to Yeddyurappa on Saturday evening, they said.

"Our leader is free to take any decision on our resignation. Since we have been accused of indulging in anti-party activities, though we have not done anything, we chose to quit", one of the ministers said.

The sources also said at least six MLAs have also handed over their resignation from the assembly to Yeddyurappa. The letters were handed over to Yeddyurappa at a meeting held at his residence, they said.

Yeddyurappa has been holding consultations with his loyalists a day after the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe against him in connection with illegal mining.

Efforts by RSS Leader Satish to mollify Yeddyurappa and persuade him not to take any hasty step has failed to yield results after both the leaders met briefly on Saturday.

About 38 MLAs, including some ministers, have already shot off a letter to Gowda demanding convening of an emergent legislature party meeting to discuss party affairs in the state and his complaint to the party central leadership, which the chief minister has rejected.

On March 24, Gowda and state BJP President KS Eswarappa sent a letter seeking action against some ministers, loyal to Yeddyurappa accusing them of indulging in anti-party activities.

Gowda has maintained there was no need for calling a legislature party meeting to discuss the content of a correspondence between him and Gadkari.

70-year-old Yeddyurappa had intensified his campaign to regain chief ministership since February after the Karnataka High Court had quashed an illegal mining case filed against him and also the sanction accorded by Governor HR Bhardwaj to prosecute him.

With the party central leadership cold-shouldering his efforts to stage a comeback and asking him to come clean in the corruption cases against him, Yeddyurappa has turned the focus on removal of Sadandana Gowda.

Sources said Yeddyurappa will be taking a decision on the resignation letters of ministers and also that of MLAs on Monday.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact Eswarappa and Gowda, who is on a tour of Dakshina Kannada district, proved futile.

Ever since the BJP government assumed office in Karnataka in May 2008, it has faced several revolts but managed to survive.

In 2009, former minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy had led a revolt and took away more than 45 MLAs to resorts in Hyderabad and Goa demanding Yeddyurappa's removal as Chief Minister.

In 2010, 16 MLAs, including 5 independents, had withdrawn support to Yeddyurappa government but it surived in the wake of Speaker K G Bopaiah disqualifying them ahead of the two floor tests.

In March this year the BJP government was in the midst of the budget session when Yeddyurappa had taken 60 MLAs loyal to him to a resort and boycotted the session demanding change in Gowda's leadership.

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