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Celebrations have begun at the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi after the Bharatiya Janata Party high command decided to allow B S Yeddyurappa to continue as the state chief minister. The beleaguered chief minister has been facing charges of a land allocation scam.
The high command has decided that Yeddyurappa should continue in office since no commission has indicted him in connection with the case and a decision can't be taken merely on the basis of the allegations hurled by the opposition.
The high command would now wait for the report of the Justice B Padmaraj Commission of inquiry which is looking into the land deals of the ten years in Karnataka, including the charges against Yeddyurappa.
"After consultations with senior party leaders and state leaders, the party has decided to continue with B S Yeddyurappa as chief minister of Karnataka," BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said in a statement that set at rest political uncertainty in the ruling party in the state.
With Gadkari's statement, the 67-year-old leader, the first BJP chief minister in south India, has successfully defied the party leadership, which had veered round to his removal in the wake of mounting allegations of land allotment to his family members and receipt of money from mining lobby, and managed to have his way.
The decision on his continuance comes amidst indications that the dominant Lingayat community to which it belongs may not take his removal lightly and also in view of the upcoming local body elections in the state when destablisation of the leadership may not be considered a wise move.
The party chief said with the panchayat and zilla parishad elections in Karnataka round the corner, leaders and workers should work towards ensuring the success of the party.
Gadkari said the allegations against Yeddyurappa had created an 'environment of uncertainty' in the state for the past few days.
The chief minister has denied all these allegations and also offered his response, both in public and to the party leaders, he said. Javedekar said there can be no comparison between the allegations of land scam in Karnataka with the scams faced by the Congress ruled United Progressive Alliance -- the 2G spectrum scam and Commonwealth Games scams.
"In Karnataka, an inquiry has already been ordered but in the cases of 2G spectrum and other scams, the Congress started acting only after Supreme Court intervention," he said.
With inputs from PTI