Bellary (Karnataka): Senior BJP leader
Sushma Swaraj today alleged that BJP ministers from Bellary
were approached with allurements to switch over to Congress in
an attempt to "break" the B S Yeddyurappa government in
Karnataka and "save" the Rosaiah government in Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing a well-attended BJP rally here, she said
since the ministers from the district played a key role in
formation of the BJP government in Karnataka, attempts were
made to win them over to the Congress with enticements, with
the belief that it would lead to "breaking" of the government.
"This attempt was also to save the Andhra Pradesh
government which is facing a serious situation at home," she
claimed, without referring to Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, son of
late chief minister Y S R Reddy, who had taken out a yatra in
defiance of the Congress leadership's directive.
Swaraj said she wanted to reveal this "truth and
secret" as a section of newspapers had been carrying
"misinformation" against the Reddy brothers from Bellary -- G
Janardhana Reddy and G Karunataka Reddy (both of whom are
ministers in the Yeddyurappa government) in recent days.
Noting that she currently served as the Leader of
Opposition in Lok Sabha, Swaraj said she was making this
revelation with full responsibility.
She said she could not reveal the name of the person
who made these attempts, saying if she did that it would lead
to "lowering of the prestige of a constitutional authority"
and a "constitutional controversy".
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj had demanded the
resignation of the Bellary ministers for alleged illegal
mining in the state. He had also met President Pratibha Patil
and Manmohan Singh and briefed them on alleged illegal mining.
Swaraj said she is ready to tell Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in person
"how, where and why" vis-a-vis these attempts.
"Not once but twice, the Bellary ministers spurned the
allurements," she claimed, adding, this led to creation of an
atmosphere of fear, anxiety and tarnishing targeting them.
Swaraj said the prolonged Opposition dharna in the
Karnataka legislature last month, which was followed by a
'padayatra' by the Congress from Bangalore to Bellary were a
result of that.
She charged the Congress with not being able to digest
the fact it had lost to the BJP in the last Assembly
elections.
PTI
First Published: Friday, August 20, 2010, 21:02