By IANS
Bangalore : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka Saturday decided to press ruling partner Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) to honour its word on power transfer and not use Tourism Minister B. Sriramulu’s remark about chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy as a ruse to go back on the commitment.
Sriramulu, a strongman in iron-ore rich Bellary district, claimed early this week that an attempt on his life had been made at the behest of Kumaraswamy.
Angry over the charge, JD-S president and Kumaraswamy’s father H.D. Deve Gowda announced that the atmosphere was not conducive to transfer power to the BJP on Oct 3 as scheduled.
Kumaraswamy is to give up his seat to the BJP under an informal agreement he reached with them when forming a coalition government in February 2006.
“The Bellary incident (Sriramulu’s charge) has no relation to the power transfer which was agreed upon 20 months back,” BJP vice president Yashwant Sinha told a press conference here after a meeting with senior state party leaders.
“We will convey to Deve Gowda that the two should not be mixed,” Sinha said, adding, “I will seek an appointment with Deve Gowda and meet him to discuss the issue.”
Sinha arrived here late Friday evening for talks with state leaders to devise a strategy to mollify Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy to ensure smooth power transfer.
If it takes place on Oct 3, then the BJP will have its first chief minister in southern India in B.S. Yediyurappa, now deputy chief minister.
“It is our firm belief even at this stage that the terms of agreement reached between BJP and JD-S about the coalition government will fructify.”
Earlier in the day, Sinha had discussions with Yediyurappa, state party chief D.V. Sadananda Gowda, party’s national general secretary from the state H.N. Ananth Kumar and other senior leaders.
“The solution to most difficult problems can come out of dialogue. We hope to have the dialogue with JD-S,” Sinha said.
Asked whether any action would be taken against Sriramulu for triggering the present crisis, he said: “First we will meet him and then decide.”