The spat between Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda and supporters of former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa is set to worsen with the CM ordering a probe into the affairs of the excise department, headed by staunch BSY loyalist M.P. Renukacharya. He has directed the excise commissioner to inquire into the issue and submit a report in three days.
Though excise commissioner Aravind Jannu tried to clarify that the CM had not mooted an inquiry against the minister, Mr Renukacharya himself made the best of the opportunity to hit back at the CM. On June 12, Dakshina Kannada district JD(S) general secretary R. Dhanraj had given a complaint to the CM about the style of functioning of Mr Renukacharya and the vigilance wing of the department. He had alleged that there was rampant corruption in the excise wing particularly after Mr Renukacharya became minister.
Reacting to the probe, Mr Renukacharya said the Chief Minister should have had the courtesy to discuss the issue with him before initiating an inquiry. “Firstly, the commissioner has no power to inquire into charges made against a minister. Secondly, the department has performed better in every year after I took over as CM’’.
Reiterating that he was a loyalist of BSY, the minister asserted that he had never indulged in anti-party activity. “This is a serious issue. After becoming chief minister, Mr Sadananda Gowda has never convened a legislature party meeting. Legislators including me have a lot of issues which we would like to raise. The chief minister should convene the meeting immediately to hear what we have to say,’’ he said. He made it clear that he did not want to get into a verbal row with the CM. “It was we who made him CM. He is an honest and hardworking leader. I respect him. He should have realised that the complaint was politically motivated,’’ the minister said, adding that he had never criticized Mr Gowda in public, nor had he asked for a leadership change.
Meanwhile, excise commissioner Arvind Jannu clarified that the CM had ordered an inquiry into the allegations against the vigilance squad in Mangalore and not against the minister.