Yeddy-Reddy feud rocks Karnataka govt

BANGALORE/NEW DELHI: The Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka plunged into a crisis on Wednesday after the Reddy brothers, Karunakara Reddy and Janardhana Reddy, raised a banner of revolt against the chief minister.

The tax levied by the state government on the iron-ore mined from the Bellary district to fund the flood-relief work and alleged interference of rural development and panchayati raj minister Shobha Karandlaje in the work are issues which have turned the brothers against Mr Yeddyurappa.

The two sides were not willing to back down from their positions and BJP Rajya Sabha leader Arun Jaitley, who was rushed to Bangalore on Wednesday morning by the BJP���s central leadership, held separate discussions with them. Till late Wednesday, he was unable to find a way out in view of the intractable stance adopted by both sides.

Hours before Mr Jaitley landed in Bangalore, Mr Yeddyurappa, in a demonstration of an enough-is-enough attitude, ordered the abrupt transfer of five officials, including the deputy commissioner and Bellary police superintendent, in a move seen as striking at tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy and his brother, revenue minister G Karunakara Reddy, who hail from the mine-rich district.

Mr Yeddyurappa also shunted out the health department principal secretary I R Perumal, apparently targeting health minister B Sreeramulu, who���s considered close to the Reddy brothers.

``It is an administrative exercise. There is nothing special about it. We wanted some good officers in Bellary to implement relief work in flood hit areas. It doesn���t mean that those who were transferred are not good officials,������ Mr Yeddyurappa told reporters defending the action.

The Reddy brothers struck back, going ahead with their plans to launch a housing scheme in Bellary by laying the foundation at a village near Siruguppa for constructing 50,000 low-cost homes at a cost of Rs 500 crore for those affected by the recent floods. They did not even bother to invite the chief minister for the function, indicating a deepening of the crisis.

Their action was being seen in political circles here as their response to the ambitious housing project, christened `Asraya,��� unveiled by the chief minister to build over two lakh low-cost dwellings across the state. The Reddy brothers reportedly wanted the government to stay away from the districts of Raichur, Bellary, Koppal and Gadag, which have come to be viewed as their turf, and leave the job to them.

Seeking to downplay the action of the Reddy brothers, Mr Yeddyurappa said, ``it is also a government programme. Every minister in charge of districts has been given a free hand to take up relief works. It includes Bellary also.������

Mr Janardhana Reddy, however, has already declared that they would mobilise funds for the housing construction from mine owners and other donors. ``It is our contribution to the affected people in Bellary������, he had said.
Mr Yeddyurappa deputed home minister V S Acharya and law minister S Suresh Kumar to hold parleys with speaker Jagdish Shettar, whom the dissidents have been projecting as their chief ministerial candidate to replace Mr Yeddyurappa.