Bangalore: The diehard loyal legislators of former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, against whom the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe regarding illegal mining, on Saturday assembled at the BJP leader’s house to discuss the next course of action.
Sources said they included half a dozen ministers including Basavaraj Bommai, Umesh Katti, V Somanna and Renukacharya.
They discussed the aftermath of yesterday’s apex court order which has asked CBI to probe the incidence of Mr Yeddyurappa allegedly misusing official position as chief minister and supporting illegal mining.
Three firms owned by his family are also accused of receiving huge funds from some mining companies.
Speaking to reporters outside Mr Yeddyurappa’s Race Course residence, Mr Renukacharya said though the group backed the former chief minister, it was always loyal to the BJP and its government headed by D V Sadananda Gowda.
‘We always stand by Mr Yeddyurappa as he is our leader. But we are loyal workers of the BJP and, as ministers, work under Mr Gowda. We will never indulge in any anti-party activities,’ he said.
Mr Yeddyurappa had made a failed bid to get himself reinstated as the chief minister but the CBI probe has put an end to it, as the current tenure of the first BJP government in south ends during May next year. This had caused rift in the state unit of the party.
The minister, however, objected to Mr Gowda writing a letter to party president Nitin Gadkari allegedly listing some senior ministers in the Yeddyurappa’s camp for committing anti-party activities, being corrupt and ineffective.
The letter, which was also signed by party state unit Chief K S Eshwarappa alleged that their (Yeddyurappa loyalists’) boycotting the party patriarch L K Advani’s ‘Jan Chetana Yatra’ that passed the state during October last year should be dealt with seriously. (UNI)