Karnataka crisis: BJP leaders to meet President Patil

NEW DELHI - The land scam case in Karnataka has taken a fresh twist with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership advising Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa to tread cautiously in dealing with the matter legally.

Yeddyurappa, who was in Delhi on Sunday for consultations with the party’s national leadership, was advised not to approach President Pratibha Patil directly for the moment, but return to Bangalore and take both political and legal opinions on the issue.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani will lead a party delegation to meet with President Pratibha Patil today to demand the recall of Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj.

Beside Advani, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley will part of the delegation.

The BJP has accused Bhardwaj of acting as a Central Government agent in sanctioning the prosecution of Yeddyurappa and others for their role in the land scam case.

On Sunday, Yeddyurappa said he wanted to meet with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

“It’s an insult to the people of Karnataka, to the Chief Minister, to the democratic system. This is not the first time Mr Bhardwaj is doing like this. As soon as he became the Governor of Karnataka, he started this,” Yeddyurappa said.

He said he would not file a case in the Karnataka High Court just yet with regard to the Governor’s decision to sanction his prosecution.

Yeddyurappa further said that he was aware of Governor Bhardwaj’s next step, which was to pass an order for his prosecution.

Yeddyurappa has been accused of misusing his post and involved corruption for allotting state-owned land plots to his kith and kin.

Yeddyurappa has clearly stated that there is no need for him to resign, as the people of the state were happy with his hard work.

The controversy related to the allotment of 2.5 acres of prime de-notified land in the state capital to Yeddyurappa’s two sons. (ANI)