Yeddyurappa to complain to president against Bhardwaj

SHIMOGA - Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Thursday said he will write to President Pratibha Patil Friday against Governor H.R. Bhardwaj’s repeated public criticism of his government.

“Tomorrow (Friday) I am writing a letter to President Patil on whether she had permitted governors to act like this,” he told reporters here, reacting to Bhardwaj’s statement late Wednesday that he has a list of corrupt ministers and anybody can take it from him.

This is the first time Yeddyurappa has directly taken on Bhardwaj, who has been demanding a ‘true picture’ regarding land deal allegations against him and the action taken against Reddy brothers, who are ministers, over alleged illegal iron ore mining.

Yeddyurappa referred to union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily meeting Bhardwaj in Bangalore Thursday morning, and accused Moily of attempts to destablise his government.

Moily was former Congress chief minister in the state.

Bhardwaj’s statement on the list of corrupt ministers came after Yeddyurappa had brushed aside his comment that he was not happy with the chief minister’s response to land deal allegations and action against Reddy brothers.

The governor said he had given the corrupt ministers’ list to Yeddyurappa.

Bhardwaj came in for criticism for the first time from state Law Minister S. Suresh Kumar, considered to be a sober politician and not known to use harsh words.

“Karnataka is not an office and the governor is not its office superintendent. Ministers do not work as clerks under the supervision of this office superintendent,” Kumar told reporters in Chikmagalur.

“Only the president has to advise the governor,” he added.

Bhardwaj and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been attacking each other for several weeks now.

While Yeddyurappa has not been direct in his criticism of Bhardwaj, state BJP leaders led by their president K.S. Eshwarappa always call him a “Congress agent”.

Eshwarappa had two days back taunted Bhardwaj to quit and contest the taluka (sub-district) and zilla (district) panchyat elections being held Dec 26 and Dec 31 either as a Congress candidate or as a Janata Dal-Secular nominee.

On Wednesday, Eshwarappa said Bhardwaj was attacking the BJP government to please Congress president Sonia Gandhi and become a minister again.

Bhardwaj, a long time Congressman, was a central law minister before his appointment as the Karnataka governor.