Confident of resolving KS Eshwarappa revolt issue, says state BJP chief BY Vijayendra
Shivamogga, Mar 18: Amid a banner of revolt raised by senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, the party's Karnataka President B Y Vijayendra on Monday expressed confidence about the issue getting resolved, and said it was natural for aspirants to get upset on not getting the ticket to contest elections.
Acknowledging Eshwarappa's contribution in building and strengthening the BJP in Karnataka, he said the candidates for Lok Sabha polls were decided by the national leadership of the party, and it was not his decision.
Eshwarappa has announced he will contest as an independent candidate from Shimoga seat in the coming Lok Sabha polls, blaming Vijayendra and his father and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa for his son K E Kantesh being denied a party ticket from Haveri constituency. Former CM Basavaraj Bommai has got BJP's Haveri ticket.
Yediyurappa's son and sitting MP B Y Raghavendra is the BJP candidate from Shimoga. Eshwarappa, who is firm on contesting despite efforts by the party leaders to pacify him, has even decided to skip Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Shivamogga on Monday.
ALSO READ: KS Eshwarappa Stands Firm, Declares Independent Candidacy from Shimoga
"Eshwarappa is a senior leader, at appropriate time, we will get answers to certain questions. I can just say at this moment that selection of candidates to any of the constituencies is not just decided by me as the state president and it is not possible, as ours is a national party. There is no question of our party deciding on candidates, just by listening to me, time will give answer to everything," Vijayendra said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the candidates are chosen by the national leadership, and it is their decision.
Asked about Eshwarapppa's contest, he expressed confidence that everything will be resolved. "I have information that a lot of misinformation might have fallen on his (Eshwarappa) ears."
Stating that his brother Raghavendra has done good work as an MP, Vijayendra expressed confidence about his victory with a big margin.
Vijayendra was not appointed as the state President by Yediyurappa, he said, adding, the appointment was made by the party leadership; national President J P Nadda has already answered this question and there is no need to raise this issue again and again.
Eshwarappa has alleged that the BJP in Karnataka is in the clutches of Yediyurappa, and has claimed that his fight was to "save the party" in the state on behalf of "hurt party workers".
Commenting on Eshwarappa's statement that several Hindutva leaders were being neglected by Yediyurappa and Vijayendra, the state BJP chief said, there are several Hindutva leaders in the BJP, and the party has the strength to take everything along. " We will do it."
None of these issues will influence the Lok Sabha elections, and by winning the maximum number of seats, the state unit will strengthen the hands of Narendra Modi, he said. "All leaders will work unitedly. I too did not get a ticket from Varuna in the past (ahead of 2018 Assembly polls). I abided by the leadership's decision...it is natural that aspirants will get upset when they don't get a ticket."
He said Eshwarappa is a leader who has built the party and strengthened it, and everything will be fine.
To a question about reports that JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy is upset over seat sharing, Vijayendra said he was not aware about the seat sharing talks in Delhi.
"Our leadership is constantly in touch with Kumaraswamy and everything will be resolved easily," he said.
Meanwhile, Eshwarappa who is visiting various maths today said he has got blessings from the pontiffs of maths of various communities, for the step that he has taken towards "protecting Dharma."
"It has strengthened me.....with their (swamijis') blessings and the blessings of the people I will be victorious in the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency and I will support Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister," he said.
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Notices issued to Himachal conductor, driver for anti-Rahul Gandhi audio clip playing in govt bus
Shimla, Nov 30: After finding itself in soup over a CID enquiry on "missing samosas", the Himachal Pradesh government is again in a tight spot for issuing notices to a state roadways conductor and driver after an audio clip with defamatory remarks against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was allegedly played in their bus.
A man in his complaint to the Chief Minister's Office said defamatory words were used against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and other leaders in an audio clip which was played in the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus plying between Shimla and Sanjauli on November 5.
In a letter to the conductor and driver of the bus on November 25, the HRTC sought explanation from them. The letter went viral on the internet.
Talking to reporters on Friday, HRTC Managing Director Rohan Chand Thakur said a routine complaint was received from a customer after which a fact finding enquiry was initiated. The enquiry was closed as the allegations were found baseless.
However, the wording of the explanation sought could have been better and the officers have been verbally conveyed to improve in the coming times, he added.
The defamatory words were allegedly used in a debate being played in the audio clip.
Reacting sharply to the letter, BJP MLA from Dharamshala, Sudhir Sharma, said the government should appoint marshals to stop audios being played in buses.
"Such decisions of the government are damaging the reputation of the state government as well as the state," he added.
Earlier, the state CID department had ordered an internal enquiry on the samosas which were brought for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu during a function and by mistake were served to the his security staff. A senior police official had termed the faux pas as an anti-CID and ant-Government act.
