Bangalore:
Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa got a breather today as the High Court quashed a case against him in the illegal mining scam. Justices K Bhaktavatsala and K Govindaraju set aside the First Information Report (FIR) that marks the formal beginning of the police probe registered against him.
In July last year, Governor HR Bhardwaj had sanctioned permission to file a case against Mr Yeddyurappa in the scam after the Lokayukta indicted him in its illegal mining report. Mr Yeddyurappa, the BJP's first Chief Minister in Karnataka, was forced to quit on July 31 last year following the Lokayukta indictment.
The former Karnataka chief minister had challenged the filing of the FIR and Mr Bhardwaj's decision on the ground that the Lokayukta had recommended action against him without giving an opportunity to present his case.
As a fallout of the case, he was rebuffed by BJP chief Nitin Gadkari last week who ruled out any change of guard in the state; Mr Yeddyurappa had reportedly given an ultimatum to Mr Gadkari, demanding he be reinstated as chief minister or given a senior post in the party. Mr Gadkari had asked Mr Yeddyurappa to wait for acquittal from the court before he can be considered for chief ministership or a top post in the party.
"I did not aspire for the chief minister's post. Since the central leadership promised to reinstate me as chief minister after six months, I visited Delhi (on earlier occasions) to restore my lost chair," he told a meeting in Bangalore convened by the Backward Class Forum on his birthday last week. After he was rebuffed, Mr Yeddyurappa said he would not attend the BJP Core Committee meeting on March 3 convened to resolve the issue of leadership change. "I will not go to Delhi asking for chief minister's chair... I don't want it," he said.
Mr Yeddyurappa also said that there was no question of him "deserting the party". "I want BJP to grow more stronger. I would work towards it," he said.
Mr Yeddyurappa is reportedly unhappy with the present chief minister Sadananda Gowda. The former Karnataka chief minister held a show of strength with more than 50 MLAs arriving at his home last week.
Mr Yeddyurappa was jailed in October last year after being arrested for two different cases that involved him using his office as Chief Minister to make prime property available to his children and their spouses at phenomenal bargains. He was released from Bangalore's Central Prison after 25 days after.
As a political impact, today's court order may increase Mr Yeddyurappa's bargaining power with the Central leadership. He was asked to step down after the indictment in illegal mining report. Now with the case being quashed and with the recent mandate, he may step up pressure again.