BSY’s trusted ministers on tour of mutts to give Karnataka govt’s image a shine

BENGALURU: With the State Government’s image taking a hit after differences in the ruling party came out in the open, loyalists of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa have got down to work, repairing the damage. Senior ministers in Yediyurappa’s cabinet are now doing the rounds of important mutts in the state, which have a huge following, in a bid to rebuild the government’s image. 

Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai recently met Nirmalanandanatha Swami of Adichunchanagiri mutt in Bengaluru, and on Wednesday, they will meet Suttur mutt seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami in Mysuru. Over the next one week, the duo will visit Siddaganga mutt in Tumakuru and Murugha mutt in Chitradurga. Visits to mutts in Udupi and North Karnataka are also lined up. Detailing their plan, Ashoka said that he and his cabinet colleague will travel across the state and visit all mutts, irrespective of caste affiliations, in order to reach out to people through them.

“We will share details of the government’s work during the floods and Covid-19 crises among others. Despite a huge increase in Covid-19 cases, our government managed well, in fact, better than neighbouring states. Our government has paid compensation to workers in the unorganised sector and others. We will highlight this to mutt heads and take their suggestions for welfare schemes and other initiatives that will help people,” he told The New India Express. 

Sources said Bommai and Ashoka, who are prominent Lingayat and Vokkaliga leaders, respectively, and loyalists of Yediyurappa, are also seeking the support of mutt heads for Yediyurappa’s leadership, especially after the recent buzz over a change in leadership. This apart, some BJP leaders have been making statements against the State Government, putting both the government and the party to embarrassment.Last month, after Yediyurappa declared that he will quit the CM’s post if the party top brass directs him to do so, seers of 17 Lingayat mutts in Karnataka had put out a statement in support of him.