Shivakumar explored secret understanding with BJP, says Yatnal

Vijayapura MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, who was recently expelled from the BJP, has stirred a fresh controversy saying that Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar explored a secret understanding with the BJP in the State.

Speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi on Sunday, Mr. Yatnal said that Mr. Shivakumar met BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra in New Delhi to discuss the possibility of sharing power in the State.

According to him, the discussions included who will occupy the posts of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister if Mr. Shivakumar joined the BJP along with Congress MLAs.

“Mr. Shivakumar has one leg in the BJP. Since he did not have the backing of a large number of Congress MLAs, he chose to remain quiet,” Mr. Yatnal said.

Mr. Yatnal also said that although Mr. Shivakumar has claimed the support of 60-70 Congress legislators, the BJP’s assessment suggested that only 12-13 MLAs were firmly with him, while the rest were with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

“A senior BJP national leader asked my opinion about the number of Congress MLAs who were with the BJP. I said 10 or 13. I made it clear that if Mr. Shivakumar joins the BJP, none of his followers will follow suit. The leader said I was right. This is the reason why the BJP high command has decided against making any attempt to form a government with his support,” Mr. Yatnal said.

Strongly opposing the very idea of Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Vijayendra coming together to form a government, Mr. Yatnal said: “If these two most corrupt politicians join hands, Mr. Shivakumar as Chief Minister and Mr. Vijayendra as Deputy Chief Minister, they will sell Karnataka. Mr. Siddaramaiah’s pro-Muslim measures can be tolerated. But Mr. Shivakumar as Chief Minister cannot be tolerated.”

Responding to a media query about Mr. Shivakumar singing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) anthem Namaste Sada Vatsale in the Legislative Assembly and later apologising for it, Mr. Yatnal remarked that if Mr. Shivakumar were to have sung a song praising Sonia Gandhi instead of the one praising India, he would have been made Chief Minister in Mr. Siddaramaiah’s place overnight.