Political instability plagues BJP govt in Karnataka

BANGALORE: Political instability which has plagued the BJP government in Karnataka in the last three years raised its head once again when former minister and close associate of the Reddy brothers, B Sriramulu, quit as MLA on Sunday.

Addressing the media, Sriramulu said he decided to resign following various personal attacks made against him as they had hurt his self-respect.

He is a MLA from Bellary Rural constituency. Speculation on Sriramulu’s resignation has been going the rounds. Sunday’s announcement is seen as his pressure tactic on Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda to strike a bargain with the government.

Gowda had dropped Sriramulu and Reddy brothers – G Janardhan Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy – as ministers, when he formed his ministry. They also did not find any room even during the ministerial expansion.

The decision to drop the three ministers was taken after their names figured prominently in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining of iron ore in Bellary district.

Sriramulu said that he had been hurt that his name appeared in the Lokayukta report but asked the government to fully accept the findings. Just after Sriramulu announced his decision to resign, Gowda along with Law Minister Suresh Kumar and State BJP president KS Eshwarappa held discussions to sort out the issue.

However, it is very unlikely that the resignation will have a major impact on BJP in Karnataka.