BJP state president B S Yedddyurappa on Sunday dared Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar to make public “secret diaries” which the Congress leader had claimed would expose BJP leaders in the state.
Last week, soon after the Income Tax Department filed its fourth case of tax evasion against Shivakumar, he had termed it a “political vendetta” by the BJP at the Centre and had said he would expose leaders of the saffron party.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Yeddyurappa said, “He (Shivakumar) can release whatever he has. We are ready for any sort of inquiry by any agency, ACB, CID or Lokayukta.” Yeddyurappa said the government should ensure that injustice was not meted out to people of the state on the Cauvery issue. “We are with the government in this regard and will extend full cooperation,” he said.
Slamming the Centre for notifying the Cauvery Water Management Authority, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday had said that the state government would explore legal options to challenge it.
Yeddyurappa said people of the state were still waiting for Kumaraswamy to implement the promises made by the JD(S) ahead of the elections. The BJP leader charged that Kumaraswamy was insulting the people by giving excuses, like being under the compulsion of coalition politics.
He said the BJP would hold agitations across the state if the government renamed the Haj Bhavan in Bengaluru after the 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.
Last week, Minorities Welfare and Wakf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan said the government had received proposals from the Muslim religious scholars demanding that the Haj Bhavan be renamed as Hazrat Tipu Sultan Haj Ghar.
Yedyyurappa said the government was indulging in vote-bank politics. “If they want to rename Haj Bhavan, let them name it after (former president) A P J Abdul Kalam,” he said.
In another part of Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said the government was yet to take a final decision on renaming the Haj Bhavan after Tipu.
“No final decision has been taken. The BJP is only trying to vitiate the atmosphere in the state,” Parameshwara said.