BSY arrest: Egg on BJP’s face
The arrest of former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and one of his Cabinet colleagues S.N. Krishnaiah Setty in Bengaluru on multiple counts of corruption on Saturday puts paid to the hoax sought to be perpetrated by the saffron party — that it had earned the moral right to mount an offensive against the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre on grounds of taint.
This derived from the party’s self-indulgent claim that it was a clean party, or “a party with a difference”, to recall a shop-soiled self-description of an earlier era. The BJP lending its support to the Anna Hazare campaign with gusto, to the extent of declaring itself a camp follower (in a submissive letter by party president Nitin Gadkari to Mr Hazare), and before that the RSS — the BJP’s ideological life-force — publicising its strong organisational backing to the anti-corruption plank of the Maharashtra social activist, were all carefully tailored to vicariously wear the halo of being anti-corruption fighters. Not many took note as the manicured perception took a beating when the party, following shocking reports of corruption and a rising factional struggle, replaced its Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. But Mr Yeddyurappa’s high-profile arrest is a different matter altogether.
It should cause no surprise if there are found to be other skeletons rattling in the BJP’s cupboard in Karnataka with links on high. Official investigations are going on into the illegal mining rackets of embarrassingly significant proportions being allegedly spearheaded by other members of the erstwhile Yeddyurappa government, and patronised by leading lights of the BJP. On account of Mr Yeddyurappa’s allegedly corrupt conduct, made worse by factionalism and partisanship, financial profits from questionable deals were showered only on the favoured few. The cuts of the power pie also went to the former leader’s acolytes. Within the BJP top leadership too, there were said to be Yeddyurappa patrons, the degree depending on what they could milk from the southern leader. Internal warfare within Karnataka following the disgracing of the once formidable party chieftain can hardly be ruled out in the circumstances, with the possibility of trails leading to the top. The BJP saw Karnataka as its gateway to South India. The party’s actions while it is in power in the state are, however, clearly not aligned with this. To make matters worse, the BJP now seeks to brazen its way out of the crisis by asserting it would help out with Mr Yeddyurappa’s legal defence.
Not able to suppress his prime ministerial ambitions, L.K. Advani is on a rath yatra to advertise his party’s probity. In the wake of the Karnataka developments, he might be well advised to make an excuse and call it off.
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