A week long speculations of replacing the Chief Minister of Karnataka over a land scam ended with a happy note. A positive political decision by BJP High Command allowing the CM BS Yeddyurappa to continue in the top post brought cheers among the people of Karnataka. The news of Yeddyurappa emerging safe disappointed Congress and JD(S) leaders who were making baseless allegations as part of their strategy to oust the BJP Government. The high level meeting of senior national leaders of BJP held in Delhi has decided to put an end to the confusion by showing green signal to the present BJP Government headed by BS Yeddyurappa to stay in the hot seat to continue ongoing development works while advising him to perform better in the coming Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections.
Prakash Javedekar, spokesperson of the BJP read the statement of the BJP party chief Nitin Gadkari on November 24 which announced that Yeddyurappa will continue in the Office of CM as the Karnataka Government has appointed the Commission of Inquiry into the allegations of land allotment against all the land scams. Javedekar said there can be no comparison between the allegations of land scam in Karnataka with scams of UPA Government. “It is not a matter of perception or allegations. It is a fact of willingness for enquiry which Congress is refusing,” he said.
After the significant announcement, a beaming Yeddyurappa said the Opposition is not digesting the BJP government’s success in implementing welfare schemes and thus trying to create hurdles all along. “I will work harder to serve the people of Karnataka and from now onwards I will adopt speak less – work more attitude,” he said. Soon after the breaking news, Party workers and well-wishers of Yeddyurappa were seen celebrating by bursting crackers across the State.
Many Lingayat Swamiji’s and leaders from all walks of life under the banner of Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Okkoota (All India Federation of Lingayat Community) held a protest meeting in Bengaluru on November 23 demanding continuing Yeddyurappa as CM. Few supporters of Yeddyurappa had taken to the streets in many districts, set a bus on fire and destroyed the public properties after the rumours spread that the high command has given a deadlind to CM to step down by 1 am on November 22.
It can be recalled that series of land scams have been exposed by JD(S) leader and ex-CM HD Kumaraswamy and several Congress leaders. The prominent allegation was the CM allotting a 50X80 feet lucrative Bengaluru Development Authority site in the heart of Bengaluru to his son Raghavendra who is the Lok Sabha MP. CM said he has allotted sites to many MLA’s, MP’s of BJP, Congress , JD(S) party under ‘Z’ category but only his son getting a favour from him has been highlighted. CM further said that he will stop the process of ‘Denotifying of Lands’ to stop large scale financial irregularities. As the crisis were blown out of proportion Raghavendra promptly returned the site to BDA.
