By IANS,
New Delhi: Two of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) former chief ministers, B.S. Yeddyurappa and Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, were among those who missed the party’s national executive meet here Friday.
Yeddyurappa is former chief minister of Karnataka, while Nishank headed the BJP government in Uttarakhand.
BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad said Yeddyurappa did not come because he had to perform some religious rites.
“Yeddyurappa-ji had a pooja for his late wife, so he took permission from the party,’ Prasad said explaining his absence.
He, however, did not comment on the reason for Nishank’s absence.
Yeddyurappa was removed from the chief minister’s post after a report of the state Lokayukta indicted him in the multi-crore rupee mining scam.
Nishank was replaced by B.C. Khanduri earlier this month. Though the party did not give an official reason, sources say he was replaced to give the party a corruption- free image ahead of next year’s assembly polls.
Party’s star chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi was also absent from the two-day meet.