Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa during the aerial survey he conducted on flood-hit areas in north Karnataka on Monday. (Express Photo)A proposed expansion of the B S Yediyurappa government in Karnataka has been stalled on account of the BJP national leadership directing the chief minister to first tackle the floods in the state.
The state government currently comprises only Yediyurappa as chief minister. An expansion was expected this week after the chief minister travelled to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday. A group of BJP leaders from Karnataka travelled with Yediyurappa.
The Prime Minister and the BJP president directed Yediyurappa to address flooding in northern Karnataka on a priority basis and told him that cabinet expansion plans can be discussed after a week, said BJP sources. Yediyurappa has said he will travel again to Delhi next week.
On Thursday, Yediyurappa visited the state government’s relief centres in Belagavi region for families evacuated from banks of Krishna river in the wake of heavy rain and release of water from Koyna reservoir in Maharashtra. Yediyurappa has written to his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis, seeking regulation of water discharged from the reservoir.
The opposition Congress and JDS have been targeting the BJP government over its handling of the flood situation.
“Where are you Yediyurappa?’’ former chief minister and JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy said at a meeting of party workers on Wednesday.
“The state government has failed to deal with the situation effectively and take up relief measures on a war footing as there is no council of ministers. Only the chief minister is visiting some places and briefing without taking adequate steps,’’ state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said in a letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday.
On Thursday, the Karnataka government said in a statement that the situation is under control and the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary are monitoring it.
“Releases from reservoirs are well-coordinated and as per protocol to prevent inundation of downstream areas…The villages likely to be affected due to heavy discharge have been identified and necessary precaution taken,’’ the official statement said.
“Joint rescue team comprising fire and emergency services, SDRF, NDRF and Army have evacuated 43,858 people as on today. Nodal officers are camping in vulnerable villages,’’ it said.
