Has KMF issue ruffled Reddy brothers’ feathers?

The three Bellary Reddy brothers have yet again indirectly expressed their “dissatisfaction” over the functioning of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. They expressed their dissatisfaction on Friday in their own style by reportedly abstaining from a crucial meeting with the Central committee of officials which is in Karnataka to assess the damage caused due to the devastating floods in northern parts of the State.

Interestingly, both Mr. Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers were quick to deny media reports about the ongoing tussle between them on Saturday. Mr. Yeddyurappa termed the reports that differences have cropped up between him and the Reddy brothers as “false.”

But the State Bharatiya Janata Party circles are concerned over these developments as they have come at a crucial time when entire administrative machinery should focus on rehabilitation of lakhs of victims affected by the century’s worst floods.

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According to sources, the three Ministers from Bellary — G. Karunakara Reddy. G. Janardhana Reddy and B. Sriramulu (together known as Bellary Reddy brothers) — are upset over the moves by the government to raise additional resources for flood relief by imposing additional cess on mine ore transporting trucks.

The second reason which has reportedly upset them, particularly Gadag district in-charge Minister B. Sriramulu, is the decision taken by the Chief Minister to transfer Gadag Deputy Commissioner without consulting them. The Chief Minister had transferred the Deputy Commissioner after he had received complaints of showing slack response to flood relief operations.

Various reports also suggest that the appointment of industrialist Rajeev Chandrashekhar as co-ordinator of the rehabilitation scheme for flood victims without consulting Revenue Minister G. Karunakara Reddy is also one of the irritants.

But BJP sources maintained that the Reddy brothers were using the occasion to send a message to the government and the party that they were being sidelined. “Basically they are trying to assert themselves,” said a senior BJP leader.
KMF angle?

Speculations are rife that the powerful Reddy brothers may be trying to express their displeasure over the reported understanding within the party, as per which their youngest sibling Somashekhar Reddy may have to quit the post of KMF president soon to accommodate the outgoing party State president D.V. Sadananda Gowda. Though the BJP leaders and Reddy brothers have been publicly denying any such understanding to have only three month-tenure for Mr. Somashekhara Reddy, party sources asserted that the tenure should end by this month-end itself as per the understanding.

A senior BJP functionary said that the party would ignore the Reddy brothers’ anger for the time-being and to focus fully on flood relief operations. The party feels that the Reddy brothers have erred in their strategy by showing their anger at a time when the State is in crisis due to floods. But the party does not want the Reddy brothers’ issue to snowball into a major problem and hence would not close the conversational channels, sources said.

Though it is not the first time that Reddy brothers have expressed their anger, the present episode has come for the first time after the death of the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy with whom they had a good relationship.

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