Shobha Karandlaje, the lone woman in the BJP government, finally bid adieu to the BJP. Ms Karandlaje, who was at the centre of many controversies during her tenure as minister, spoke to Deccan Chronicle at length. Ms Karandlaje said many who would resign from the BJP may not join the KJP. She also said Shettar ill-treated her, forcing her to leave the party. Here are the excerpts.
How do you feel now, after quitting the BJP?
The idea of quitting the BJP never made me comfortable. Yet, it is a big relief now. A party built by B.S. Yeddyurappa had no space for him. Then how can we have a future there? Who will protect us? Confusion and groupism gripped the state BJP. So, we left and we got our freedom.How can the transformation fro­m an ideology-based party to personality-centric party happen?
We have not given up the ideology. I do not want to speak about the RSS or its ideology. I will speak only about the BJP. Irony is that the BJP, built by the RSS, has given up its core ideals. So, the question of moving away from ideology does arise. But now, even the BJP has turned into a personality-centric party full of money-minded leaders. They discriminate against us. Why do they follow one yardstick for Yeddyu­rapp­aji and the other for Eshwarappa? When Yeddyu­rapp­aji was in power, central leaders and top RSS functionaries had a control over the state unit, but now there is no control or guidance.
What happened when you met RSS leaders and asked them about the party leader in the state?
Yes. I met some senior leaders and asked them: If I want to stay with the BJP (in the absence of Yeddyurappaji), who should I trust? Who will protect me? Who is our leader? I told them I am ready to give up everything and be a party worker. I asked them to treat me as a “senior worker”. But no assurance was given. I felt there is no one to protect people like me.
But Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and party state president K.S. Eshwarappa are leading the party. Would they have not protected you?
I do not want to name anyone. I know how some people joined hands with (former minister Janardhana) Reddy and ensured Yeddyurappaji dropped me from the cabinet. How can I stay in a party where leaders tried to finish me off?
But you were one of those who resigned to pressure the party central leadership to bring in Mr Shettar as chief minister. Why a sudden change of heart now?
Mr Yeddyurappa was criticised and charged with scuttling the chances of another Lingayat leader from North Karnataka. One must remember that it was Mr Yeddyurappa who propped Mr Shettar in 1999 for the opposition leader’s post to stop Mr Shivappa from getting the post. But this time, we realised our mistake within 10 days of Mr Shettar becoming the chief minister. Like his predecessor (Mr Sadananda Gowda), this gentleman too stopped respecting Mr Yeddyurappa and his supporters. I will give you an example: Recently, I requested him to give an appointment to launch the Bidadi power plant. I told him that it would reflect well on the government. But he did not oblige. Instead, they changed officers in the department without consulting me. How can we continue under such circumstances?Since you have mentioned about government affairs, one pertinent point… The perception am­ong the public is that you failed as a power minister. Com­ment.
I can challenge anyone to a debate over my performance. In the last two-and-a-half years, 4593 mw of power was added to the grid. We made considerable progress on Yeramaras, Bellary, Chhattisgarh and Bidadi power plants. Our idea was to make the state self-reliant. I am happy with my performance. The fact is that wonders cannot happen overnight.You claim that you were transparent on issues related to the KPTCL, Bescom or power purchase agreements. But recently, a few opposition leaders, particularly H.D. Revanna, said that you received kickbacks in finalising power purchase. Comment
(In a sarcastic tone) Perhaps, Revanna knows very well what kickbacks mean. We strictly followed the tender procedure. We finalised power purchase agreement with Gujarat. Do you think the Gujarat government will give me kickbacks? Let there be an inquiry. How can someone give you kickbacks if you insist on strict tender norms and awarding contracts to the lowest bidder?The second part of the allegation is that when you were a minister in the Yeddyurappa government, you interfered with other departments, and that is the reason no one likes you. Many leaders close to Mr Yeddyurappa have second thoughts about joining the KJP, because of this reason. Comment
You give me one instance where I intervened or interfered. I will challenge those who are making such baseless charges. They should come out in the open and tell us when I asked for the transfer of officials in their departments or sought favours while they were finalising contracts in their departments. They oppose me because I am straightforward. But I did raise objections in cabinet meetings even on issues that concerned other departments and that could inconvenience the public.
Recently, you wrote a letter to the chief minister raising the issue of atrocity against women. Many analysed this gesture to be a political stunt. You could have discussed the issue with the chief minister privately, instead of making it public. Comment
I had raised the issue with the chief minister several times. But no action was taken. Ten days ago, a girl was raped and burnt alive at a college in Athani. Why no action was taken? Time has come to evolve a stringent law.
MLA Haratalu Halappa faces similar charges. He has identified himself with the KJP. Will the party give a ticket to him?
I do not want to name anyone. You should go through the phone calls of two leaders, who were in constant touch with the victim’s husband. Why do they keep their children in a hotel on a day that incident happened? We cannot fix an innocent person by framing false charges.
Last year, Mr Yeddyurappa had taken legislators to a res­ort two days before the then CM D.V. Sadananda Gowda presented the budget. This year, too, he is trying to trigger a crisis around the time when Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is getting ready to present the budget. Is Mr Yeddy­ur­appa insecure that Mr Shettar would become popular by presenting a populist budget? Does he intend to bring down the government?
We are not bringing down the government. If we resign, the number required to win the trust vote will come down. Let the chief minister present the budget. Why should we oppose it? We have not rebelled against the government. Those (MLAs) who are upset with the government for not getting any works allocated for their constituencies will quit. All those who quit may not join the KJP. They may go to the Congress too. Those who want to win elections comfortably will come out now. You cannot hold Yeddyurappaji responsible for this. (Dismissive tone) What popularity are you talking about? Mr Shettar did not release funds for the projects mentioned in the last year’s budget. What difference does it make if he is going to present a populist budget this year…?
Who will vote for KJP? Why should people vote for KJP?
There is no specific segment we will focus on. Our feedback is all those who benefitted from Yeddyurappaji’s schemes will vote for the KJP. For the first time, he showed how funds could be spent on welfare programmes. We are confident of winning the polls. Secondly, I would say that people have realised that Mr Yeddyurappa was victimised for no fault of his. If he were to be in power for five years, People would have backed him.