Bharatiya Janata Party State president Nalin Kumar Kateel has said that Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa would complete full term and the issue of change in leadership has never come up for debate in the party forum.
He was speaking to presspersons at Tirthahalli on Saturday, on the way to Shivamogga to attend the party’s special meeting.
The issue of change in leadership was not discussed either in the party’s meeting or the legislature party meeting. “If somebody speaks on the issue on the streets, the party has nothing to do with it,” he said.
Cabinet expansion
Regarding Cabinet expansion, Mr. Kateel said it would be done considering all factors, including social justice, seniority and regional representation. “The Chief Minister decides on his Cabinet. He takes the opinion of the party’s senior leaders, considering various issues. The expansion was delayed due to gram panchayat polls,” he said.
Western Ghats
Answering a query on the K. Kasturirangan panel report on Western Ghats, he said the Cabinet had already taken a decision to oppose the report and conveyed the same to the Centre. The previous government should have initiated a ground level survey as it was done in Kerala and Gujarat.
“The Supreme Court had instructed the States to record people’s opinion through videoconference. The previous government did not do anything. It was in slumber. However, after our party came to power, the Chief Minister spoke to Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on the issue. Now, the Cabinet has taken a stand. The Centre will act after taking opinions of the States,” he said.
Panchayat polls
Later in the day, speaking to presspersons at Sakrebailu, Mr. Kateel said the BJP supporters had won more than 42,000 seats in the gram panchayat polls. Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar had been disturbed by the party’s poor performance in the election. “They are making comments on the BJP as they are frustrated with the results,” he said.
