In the latest development in the BS Yeddyurappa- Eshwarappa feud in Karnataka, the RSS has refused to step in to iron out the differences between the two senior BJP leaders, reports The Times of India.
Although speculations were rife that the RSS would convene a meeting to address the matter, RSS leaders told TOI that it will not step in unless the two BJP leaders approach them directly.
Tensions between BJP’s state president and leader of opposition in the legislative council cropped up ever since Eshwarappa “defied” the party’s orders against the formation of Sangolli Rayanna Brigade (SRB).
Senior RSS leader V Nagaraj said, “It's the BJP's internal matter, wherein the Sangh doesn't have any role to play.”
Saying that difference of opinions were only natural in any political party, Nagaraj said that the BSY- Eshwarappa feud had been “blown out of proportion” by the media. He added that differences of opinion are bound to be resolved over time.
Another RSS leader who admitted that the situation required timely resolution, also maintained that the RSS will intervene only if the two leaders seek its help.
A state BJP leader told Deccan Chronicle that more than the BSY-Eshwarappa feud, the party members are worried about the party’s core committee being “defunct,” for the core committee has not met in a long time. This has led Yeddyurappa to take decisions based on the inputs from party members and it was not a democratic process, the leader said.
Meanwhile in Shivamogga, tensions between the supporters of Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa spilled onto the streets, with the two groups trading charges against each other in public.
After former Rajya Sabha MP Ayanur Manjunath addressed a press meet in which he said “some leaders” did not want BJP to win 150 seats and for Yeddyurappa to become the CM, supporters of Eshwarappa staged a walk out, reports The Hindu.
The quarterly meeting of RSS is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.