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CM Yediyurappa being blackmailed, claims rebel MLA ahead of Karnataka cabinet expansion
Failing to find a cabinet berth, MLC Vishwanath accused chief minister BS Yediyuruppa of breaking his promise
Dissent broke out in the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday after chief minister BS Yediyuruppa finalised and sent seven names to Raj Bhavan who will take oath as ministers as part of cabinet expansion.
Failing to find a cabinet berth, MLC Vishwanath accused the chief minister of breaking his promise. Meanwhile, another rebel BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal alleged that Yediyurappa was being blackmailed by at least three of those being sworn-in into giving them ministerial berths. Yatnal also claimed that the chief minister was distributing money to “lingayat mutts” so that they rebel against the Centre in case he is asked to step down.
Refusing to step down, Karanataka’s excise minister H Nagesh said his community will revolt if he is dropped from the cabinet. In December last year, after the minister was accused of seeking a bribe of ₹one crore for a transfer, he had alleged that he was being targeted for being a Dalit.
From nearly 24 aspirants, Umesh Katti, Arvind Limbavalli, Murugesh Nirani, C P Yogeshwar, S Angara, MTB Nagaraju and R Shankar are being accommodated in the cabinet.
Political analyst Aravind had earlier said that irrespective of who gets the nod, the exercise was likely to kickstart another round of dissidence. "There are simply too many claimants for too few posts. It will definitely create heartburn amongst those who have been denied a berth. Remains to be seen how he will handle the aftermath of the cabinet expansion exercise," he said on Tuesday.
