Karnataka Congress demands Yeddyurappa's resignation

Bangalore, June 2 : The Karnataka unit of the Congress Tuesday demanded Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's resignation over electoral malpractices the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly committed in the general elections.

"The chief minister should resign on moral grounds owning responsibility for the distribution of money and liquor by the ruling party during the Lok Sabha elections, as alleged by his cabinet colleague K.S. Eshwarappa," state Congress working president D.K. Shivakumar told reporters here.

Eshwarappa, who holds the energy portfolio, Monday sought an inquiry by the BJP's state unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda into the allegations that money and liquor were used by the ruling party to lure voters in the parliamentary polls in the state.

The opposition Congress has decided to apprise Governor Rameshwar Thakur of the electoral malpractices allegedly committed by the BJP and prevail upon him to seek Yeddyurappa's resignation, as a senior cabinet minister had expressed anguish over the alleged use of money and liquor to lure voters.

"We are planning to meet the governor Wednesday to seek an inquiry into the charges made by a senior minister. We will urge the governor to order a probe and dismiss the BJP government if the chief minister did not resign on moral grounds," Shivakumar said.

The Congress also plans to submit a memorandum to state Chief Electoral Officer M.N. Vidyashankar Wednesday to probe the charges.

"We will take an appointment with the governor after our party's state unit president R.V. Deshpande returns to the city from Karwar Wednesday," a party spokesman told IANS late Tuesday.

In the run-up to the polling April 23 and April 30 in the state, the highest number of complaints of violation of model code of conduct, including of distribution of money and liquor, were received from Bellary and Shimoga parliamentary constituencies.

Of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP won 19, the Congress six and the Janata Dal-Secular three.

Eshwarappa, who represents the Shimoga assembly segment, also accused Yeddyurappa of indulging in "dynastic culture" by fielding his son B.Y. Raghavendra for the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency.

Raghavendra won the high-profile Shimoga seat by defeating former chief minister S. Bangarappa of the Congress by 52,893 votes.

Shimoga is the home district of Yeddyurappa, who represents the Shikaripura assembly segment in the district.

In a related development, BJP legislator G. Somashekar Reddy, who represents the Bellary segment, accused the chief minister of neglecting party legislators and loyal cadres.

"It is unfortunate that ruling party legislators and loyal party workers are being ignored by their own representatives in the government. As they also worked hard to bring the party to power for the first time in the state, neither the chief minister nor his cabinet colleagues can afford to be indifferent to them," Reddy told reporters in Bellary, about 300 km from here.

Somashekar Reddy is the younger brother of the famous Reddy brothers - G. Janardhan Reddy and G. Karunakara Reddy, who are cabinet ministers in the Yeddyurappa government.