Firoz.T.Totanawala The Bangalore Metro Reporter THE ART OF BETRAYAL COMMON IN POLITICS, BETRAYAL TAKES CENTERSTAGE

BY. FIROZ.T.TOTANAWALA 

 THE BANGALORE METRO REPORTER 

 THE ART OF BETRAYAL 

 COMMON IN POLITICS, BETRAYAL TAKES CENTERSTAGE

 “The lesson you taught me, I will do it and do it better than you” the famous dialogue in the Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice comes live in the Karnataka Politics. Our current Chief Minister Mr. B.S.Yedurappa stands as the shining example for betrayal. 

 THEY BETRAYED ME! 

 A couple of years back when Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy refused to hand over the seat of power to Mr. Yedurappa for the remaining 20 months as per the agreement, the BJP and Yedurappa cried foul. They went to polls and played the betrayal plank and won 110 seats due to the sympathy factor. The Congress and the JD(S) combined won 108 seats and there were 6 independents in the total 224 seat assembly. While there was no single party with majority, the role of Independents became very crucial. The BJP had a bright chance to form its first ever Government in South India by seeking the support of these 6 Independents among whom there was 1 BJP rebel, 3 Congress rebel, 1 JD(S) rebel and one Independent. 

 THE LURING OF THE INDEPENDENTS 

 Karunakaran Reddy of the Reddy brother fame rushed to Hosadurga to meet Goolihatti Shekhar prior to his election result and convinced him to support BJP. Besides the monetary perks he was also promised a cabinet berth. Mr. Yedurappa had pledged to him that he will be awarded a good ministry and he will remain the Minister till the last of the BJP Government. Goolihatti Shekhar accepted the offer and pledged his support to Mr. Yedurappa. 

Further, he also approached other Independent candidates along with Reddy brothers and successfully brought them in. He is even today known for bringing in Mr. Varthur Prakash, a Congress rebel, to support Mr. Yedurappa. Later, Mr. Yedurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister and 5 out of 6 Independents were made Ministers and Mr. Varthur Prakash had to contend himself with the Chairmanship of a big Board. Yedurappa thanked all the Independents for helping him form the first ever BJP Government in South India and assured them that they will not be disturbed of their Ministers Portfolios till the BJP Government survives. So, arguably, Goolihatti Shekhar played a vital role in making the Chief Minister out of Yedurappa. 

 THE GAME OF ‘OPERATION KAMALA’ 

 Then, Reddy brothers under the guidance of Yedurappa, undertook ‘Operation Kamala’ wherein they horse traded few more MLA to safeguard Yedurappa and reduce the opposition strength. Many MLA from Congress and JD(S) joined BJP and were made Ministers within hours. They were also promised by the Chief Minister that they will remain Ministers till the last of BJP Government. Shivanandgowda Nayak, who defected from JD(S) to BJP under ‘Operation Kamala’, is also one among them. 

 THE TRUE COLOUR 

 What happened then? The chameleon changed its colour. After the ‘Operation Kamala’ the BJP had the strength of 117 MLA and obviously there was no use of the Independent ones. In the year 2009, Yedurappa dismissed Mr. Varthur Prakash from the Chairmanship of KUWSSB for comparatively a small mistake. A few weeks back, another Independent D. Sudhakar, the Social Welfare Minister was sacked in the wake of Beggars Colony blunder in which actually the Minister had no role to play. He was shifted to Muzrai which means a demotion for him. Then, in the current re shuffle, he was further demoted from Muzrai to an insignificant Portfolio. 

 THE OPEN BETRAYAL 

 Then there was a full screen view of Yedurappa’s betrayal. He dismissed Goolihatti Shekhar and Shivanagowda Nayak from Ministries. Goolihatti Shekhar was doing pretty well in his Sports and youth Affairs ministry and had no scams or controversies to his credit, yet, he was dismissed. Further, even Shivanagowda Nayak was dismissed due to allegations against him for the purchase of books for libraries. 

However, he actually had no role in it and that was the manipulation by the officials of the department, yet he was sacked. Both these Ministers are camp followers of Reddy brothers and they were dismissed by the Chief Minister to cut size the Reddy brothers. In fact, it is commonly known that the Reddy brothers played a vital role in bringing the first ever BJP Government and in the making of the Chief Minister, yet, Yedurappa has repeatedly tried to throw them out of the cabinet. 

 THE DEFECTED CM 

 Let us not forget that the same Yedurappa had ditched the BJP through which he crafted his political courier. He had gone to the extent of breaking down the party in 2005 to go and join JD(S). However, his attempt was foiled when the BJP high command took a tough stand and eventually he could not garner enough support of party MLA to defect to JD(S). 

 The betrayal is nothing new to Yedurappa. It is in fact his common weapon. And he has been and will consistently use it for his personal gains.