MP Renukacharya 
Karnataka

Karnataka BJP sends show-cause notice to Renukacharya for anti-party statements

The criticism from Renukacharya towards the state leadership of the BJP is an extension of the internal conflict between factions supporting Yediyurappa and those aligned with B L Santhosh.

Written by : TNM Staff

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka on Thursday, June 29 issued a show-cause letter to MP Renukacharya, a former minister and senior party leader, for making statements deemed "anti-party." The letter, sent by Lingaraj Patil, the president of the state BJP disciplinary committee read, “Despite being told enough times, you continued to make statements against state and national leaders, which brought embarrassment to the party.”

The decision to investigate anti-party activities and take disciplinary action was made during a high-level meeting attended by prominent BJP leaders, including State Party President Nalin Kumar Kateel and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.

Renukacharya, a loyalist of Yediyurappa had said the party’s state president Nalin Kumar should have resigned from the post, taking moral responsibility for the Assembly poll debacle. Without directly mentioning any specific leaders, the former minister criticised the transformation of the BJP office into a "corporate office" and called upon them to reflect on their actions.

Taking a dig at National General Secretary BL Santhosh, who many BJP leaders hold primarily responsible for the electoral loss, Renukacharya had said that leaders with no practical knowledge who hadn't even won a gram panchayat election were guiding party leaders during the Assembly elections. “If one speaks in favor of Yediyurappa one is termed as being anti-party and if you speak against Yediyurappa, you are praised,” he had said.

The ongoing criticism from Renukacharya towards the state leadership of the BJP is an extension of the internal conflict between factions supporting Yediyurappa and those aligned with B L Santhosh. Nalin Kumar Kateel, the BJP state president who was named by Renukacharya, is a BL Santhosh loyalist.

Renukacharya has also slammed K Annamalai, the Tamil Nadu state BJP president who served as the co-charge for the Karnataka election. He had said, "Is Annamalai a big hero? He came here and was striking a pose...Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai had to listen to someone who used to salute them," referring to Annamalai's IPS career. 

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