New Delhi: As the BJP struggles to deal with the political crisis in Karnataka where a determined Opposition did not let the assembly function for more than 30 minutes, it was concerned about the vice-like grip that the Reddy brothers — Janardhan and Karunakar — have established over the party.
The Reddy brothers, whose controversial mining activities have given the Opposition a powerful handle to beat the BJP government with, have secured the allegiance of 30-40 MLAs who are determined to stick with them till the bitter end, and would not shirk from toppling the government if it came to that.
In fact, BJP's resistance to the Opposition's agitation against "illegal mining" is primarily driven by the fear of the revenge that the mining tycoons from Bellary would exact from the party if it tried to ditch them.
For the Reddy duo, who came into prominence just over a decade ago, it is a remarkable achievement. Their clout has seen BJP's politics getting fused with the commercial interests of the mining lobby, and has turned their main opponent in the BJP, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, into a supporter, although a grudging one.
Karnataka governor H R Bhardwaj, who is involved in a political slugfest with the BJP, seized upon Yeddyurappa's dilemma to twist the knife. "The chief minister had his own problems from these people (Reddy brothers). You check with him. They abducted his MLAs and then dictated terms. I was here on that very day also. They brought the chief minister to his knees," the governor told Times Now with obvious relish.
Bhardwaj was combative in response to BJP's charge that he was acting like a political agent of Congress. He said he had pushed for action against corruption only because his office enjoined him to do so and not because he was engaged in organisational work.
The governor refrained from repeating the "jungle raj" description he had used earlier for the situation in Karnataka, but insisted that action against some ministers was called for.
