Legislators at mercy of middlemen contractors: Yatnal to Yediyurappa

Bengaluru: Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Monday had heated arguments with chief minister BS Yediyurappa during a meeting of a batch of BJP MLAs meant to address their concerns. Yatnal used the opportunity to target the CM and vent his ire against the government, saying legislators were at the ‘mercy of middlemen contractors’ to start projects in their constituencies.
The meeting held at a private hotel witnessed shouting and counter-shouting as Yediyurappa’s political secretary MP Renukacharya defended the CM, each time Yatnal hurled an accusation. Yatnal, sources privy to the meeting, said took on the CM, accused him of bias in allocation of funds for constituency development.

“We have to beg for funds though our own party is in power. We have become a laughing stock in the eyes of opposition parties,” the former Union minister reportedly commented at the meeting, alleging that the government had ignored north Karnataka in the allocation of funds for development programmes.

His critical comments against the CM figured prominently in the discussions BJP national general secretary Arun Singh had with state leaders. While Singh warned MLAs against criticising its state government in public, the BJP unit is said to have recommended action against Yatnal to the central disciplinary committee.

At Monday’s meeting, Yediyurappa met MLAs from Kalyana Karnataka, Mumbai-Karnataka and central and coastal part of the state in batches to discuss developmental issues, fund allocation and to prepare for the zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat elections. He will meet legislators from Bengaluru and Old Mysore region on Tuesday.