Bangalore, June 25 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a huge public meeting here Friday to mark two years of its government in Karnataka but completely ignored any reference to the controversy caused by the resignation of Lok Ayukta (Ombudsman) N. Santosh Hegde.
Senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, M. Venkaiah Naidu, H.N. Ananth Kumar and Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa did not refer to Hegde’s resignation in their speeches at the ‘Sadhana Samavesha’ (Convention on Achievements).
Hegde, a retired Supreme Court judge quit Wednesday, two days ahead of the convention, saying he was frustrated at the government ‘ignoring, over-ruling and showing indifference’ to the anti-corruption panel.
‘We expect the furore to loose its steam soon,’ a senior state party leader told IANS, referring to the issue that has led to an uproar in the state and also prompted union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to try to persuade Hegde to stay put.
Two days after Hegde quit, no one from the Yeddyurappa ministry or from the party had contacted Hegde, who still had one year left of his five-year term.
Asked whether the party was united on letting Hegde go, the leader said: ‘Whoever is there in that position will continue to carry on the work. Why should we insist on any person continuing in the position?’
At his press meet Thursday, Yeddyurappa had virtually said good-bye to Hegde. ‘I thank him for the good work. I do not want to embarrass him in any way,’ he had said when asked whether he would coax Hegde to withdraw the resignation.
The leader said there has been no discussion in the party on whether an attempt should be made to cajole Hegde to stay on.
‘We have not planned any discussion on the issue, though informal consultations have taken place among party leaders and the consensus is that there is no need to make any effort for the resignation’s withdrawal,’ he asserted.
