Union Minister Pralhad Joshi says party leadership has not spoken to him about succeeding BSY
Hubballi: Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said the BJP top leadership has not spoken to him about succeeding Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, whose exit seems imminent, and it is only the media which is discussing the matter.
As Yediyurappa had announced that he would abide by the party's top brass instruction on July 25, Joshi said he has no clue whether the central leadership has asked him to resign.
"No one has spoken to me about it (succeeding Yediyurappa).It's only the media, which is discussing it.As no one has spoken to me, there is no need to react to it," Joshi told reporters.
Asked what if he is made the chief minister, the Union Minister quipped, "I never answer hypothetical questions with 'ifs' and 'buts'.. I don't want to answer such questions."
To a question, Joshi said he would not react because he was not aware that the chief minister had been asked to resign.
He emphasised that the 'supreme leaders' Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah apart from the BJP leadership led by party president J P Nadda would decide.
"There is no high command in the BJP but national leadership. We got different leaderships from time to time.
There was Rajnath Singh, after which Nitin Gadkari came, who was succeeded by Amit Shah and now J P Nadda is there.In the present situation, we have supreme leaders in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. They will decide," Joshi said.
He declined to comment on seers of the dominant Lingayat community warning the BJP that it would be ruined if Lingayat strongman Yediyurappa is removed from the post.
The 58-year-old Joshi has been Dharwad MP since 2004.He had also served as the BJP's state unit president from July 2012 to January 2016.
With Yediyurappa dropping a strong hint that his exit as chief minister was on the cards, speculation is rife that Joshi would take on the mantle.
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Doctor duped of Rs 8.5 lakh with promise of MPH seat in UK: Udupi police arrest 3
Udupi: Three people were held by the Udupi Town Police on Tuesday for allegedly duping a person of Rs 8.5 lakh by promising a seat for a Master of Public Health (MPH) course in the United Kingdom.
The police have arrested Suman S (24) of Hosanagar in Shivamogga and Suhan Khan (22) and Mohammad Mahaz (23) from Moodbidri, and seized cash of Rs 5 lakh along with an SUV and two mobile phones that were being used by the arrested trio, reports Times of India.
The fraud victim, Santhosh E, who filed the police complaint on January 9, told the police that he had obtained a degree in General Medicine. Hoping to study further in the UK, traveled to Dubai, where he met Aftab and agreed to pay Aftab Rs 18 lakh to get a seat in the UK for a Master’s degree. Santhosh was initially asked by Aftab to pay Rs 8.5 lakh for a confirmation of the seat, but, as the complainant did not have a Non-Resident Account (NRA), Aftab asked him to contact an acquaintance, Suman S in Udupi. During the meeting with Suman near the MTR Hotel in Moodanidambur village in Udupi, Santhosh handed over Rs 8.5 lakh.
After the process, however, Aftab avoided Santhosh’s calls, said the complainant, adding before the police that he had been deceived with the promise of the MPH seat in the UK.
The Udupi Town Police team, led by Inspector Ramachandra Nayak and Sub-inspector Eeranna Shiragumpi, probed the case, along with SIs Puneet Kumar and Bharatesh, among other personnel, and arrested the accused Aftab and Suman. They have also held Mahaz under charge of involvement in the case.
The arrested men have been presented before the court.
