BJP vs BSY: Karnataka minister sacked, MP suspended

BANGALORE: Ahead of Karnataka former chief minister BS Yedddyurappa's rally on Sunday, where he will take over reins of the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), the BJP leadership on Saturday cracked the whip by expelling from party membership Tumkur Lok Sabha MP GS Basavaraj and sacking minister B J Puttaswamy from the Shettar cabinet.
Yeddyurappa, who severed his 40-year-old association with the BJP on November 30 had convened a rally in Haveri, where he will take charge of the KJP.Both Basavaraj and Puttaswamy are his close aides.
An enraged Yeddyurappa, who is camping in Haveri to oversee arrangements for Sunday, challeged the BJP national leadership to take action against all MPs, ministers and legislators who are scheduled to attend his rally. He has already warned of serious consequences regarding the BJP's government's continuance, if his supporters are targetted.
Yeddyurappa is expecting 10 MPs and 40 legislators to be in Haveri on Sunday. However, they will not be sharing the dais with him and a separate enclosure for them is being made.
Even this time too, the BJP has taken action against Yeddyurappa's aides, who are lightweights in the party. Earlier , Rajya Sabha MP Ayanur Manjunath was stripped of the party spokesperson's post and V Dhananjaya Kumar was removed as Karnataka's special representative in New Delhi — both his aides.
The action comes following meetings of chief minister Jagadish Shettar and BJP state president K S Eshwarappa with the central leadership in New Delhi late on Friday night.