Senior BJP leader, Dharmendra Pradhan’s mission to try and strike a truce between rival factions in the Karnataka BJP and end the infighting marring its image, appears shrouded in secrecy with none of the leaders concerned willing to go on record about it.
While state BJP president, K.S. Eshwarappa has already claimed to have no knowledge about Mr Pradhan’s impending visit to the city, Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda too maintained on Saturday that he had no information about any senior party leader coming to Bengaluru.
Mr Gowda, who was in Mysore to hold the first of a series of review meetings on the drought situation, refused to talk about the political developments in the state, saying enough had been said about the internal conflict in the BJP and it would be resolved amicably. Asked about his foreign tour, Mr. Gowda said he was not going abroad for recreation. “I was requested by the industry to make the trip to attract investors ahead of the Global Investors Meet (GIM) in June. It's only a tour of five-days during which I will visit Japan and participate in roadshows. As Chief Minister, I am aware of my responsibilities”, he said, adding that Japan, Taiwan and Singapore were displaying interest in investing in Karnataka.
Clearly referring to former Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa's tour of drought affected areas, Mr Gowda said he was ready to consider suggestions from anyone on ways to deal with the drought effectively. Replying to a question, he said Mr. Yeddyurappa's report would be taken cognisance of.