Bangalore: Appearing unfazed by the rebellion against his leadership by the Yeddyurappa faction, Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda today expressed confidence of resolving the crisis with the intervention of the party’s central leadership.
Gowda met Governor HR Bhardwaj at Raj Bhavan, held consultations on convening a Legislature session next month to pass the financial bill (budget) and briefed him about the issue of resignation of nine Ministers.
PTI
The Chief Minister did not hand over the resignation letters of nine Ministers loyal to BS Yeddyurappa to the Governor; the party’s state unit President KS Eshwarappa had made it clear earlier that there is no question of accepting them.
Gowda told reporters later that he spoke to BJP President Nitin Gadkari and In-Charge of party affairs in Karnataka Dharmendra Pradhan on the resignation issue last night, adding the two leaders expressed confidence of resolving the crisis smoothly.
Pradhan is coming to Bangalore this afternoon and will hold discussions with all concerned, the Chief Minister said.
“We have faced such crisis in the past and we have resolved them successfully. This time also, I am confident we will resolve the crisis”, Gowda said.
Gowda camp to resign if there’s change of guard
Gowda’s camp today hit back saying two Ministers identified with the group would resign this afternoon expressing strong opposition to the change of leadership.
Minister Anand Asnotikar said he and Balachandra Jarkiholi would tender their resignation as they want to send a “message” to the party’s central leadership against any move to replace Gowda.
Asnotikar said the Yeddyurappa faction is adopting “pressure tactics”.
“Sadananda Gowda should not be dislodged at any cost. If such a situation arises (if Gowda had to step down), it’s better to go for elections”, he said.
Asnotikar appealed to other Ministers supporting Gowda to also tender their resignations to express solidarity with the Chief Minister.
PTI
