Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today dismissed talks of a brewing rebellion against him by a section of BJP MLAs, terming it as “creation of the media”. A group of MLAs and ministers met senior party leader H N Ananth Kumar and state unit president K S Eshwarappa late last evening and are believed to have expressed their grievances against the chief minister in the wake of allegations that a trust run by his family received donations from a mining company and other firms.
Congress and JD(S) have stepped up attacks on Yeddyurappa, alleging that the trust in which his sons are among the trustees received huge donations from the firms in return for government favours. A section of BJP MLAs believes repeated opposition allegations against the chief minister is hurting the party’s image, while some others have criticised him in private over what they maintain his “dictatorial style of functioning”.
Speaking to reporters, Yeddyurappa sought to take the media to task, wondering how a meeting held in the party office can be likened to dissidence brewing against him. “How far will people believe media reports if meaning is sought to be given to our meeting in the party office? What’s the intention?” he said.
“The reports of rebellion have appeared in a section of the media is far from truth. It’s a media creation”, he said. Further he said, Wednesday’s meeting was to discuss the party’s preparations for next month’s bye-elections to three Assembly segments, as well as on how proceedings went on in the Legislature.
According to BJP sources, at the core committee meeting Ananth Kumar and Eshwarappa sought to elicit the views of the MLAs on Yeddyurappa’s leadership. Getting a wind of it, Yeddyurappa made a hasty visit to the party office and spent some time with the MLAs present there.
Meanwhile, a group of ministers, including V S Acharya, S Suresh Kumar and Murugesh Nirani, held a joint press conference seeking to scotch reports in a section of the media of a rebellion against the chief minister.