Deputy chief minister and BJP state president K.S. Eshwarappa did his best to play down the removal of Yeddyurappa loyalists Ayanur Manjunath and Dhananjaya Kumar from their positions saying this was an internal matter of the BJP and there was no need to highlight it without reason.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Mr Eshwarappa said both Mr Manjunath, a party spokesperson, and Mr Dhananjaya Kumar, Karnataka’s official representative in New Delhi, were senior leaders and had been relieved of their responsibilies as per the direction of the BJP leadership. “The party is aware of their calibre, they will get top posts in the coming days. This is not a decision taken out of vengeance”, he asserted.
He criticised the electronic media for playing up the issue saying, “this concerns our party. We will act as per our discretion.” Meanwhile, Mr Manjunath, a Rajya Sabha member said he had accepted the party decision removing him from the post but had sought to know the reasons why this had happened.
“The decision to sack me was taken the day I made allegations against transport minister R. Ashok on the handling of the KSRTC strike. But I got the termination letter by fax the day before this news broke on Saturday. I did not reveal this openly and instead replied saying I have accepted the decision but would like to know the reasons,” he said, adding, “Now that I am free, I can concentrate on protecting the interests of workers.”