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Journalism of Courage
In January 2021 in Karnataka, shortly after the then BJP chief minister B S Yediyurappa inducted seven new ministers into his Cabinet, a row broke out with some BJP dissidents alleging that the CM was “blackmailed” with a private video to make some of these appointments.
The buzz about such a video, which had been doing the rounds since the BJP came to power in 2019, petered out after the party high command replaced Yediyurappa with Basavaraj Bommai as the CM in July 2021, citing the age of the veteran leader.
With barely a few weeks left for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections now, Yediyurappa, 81 — who has again emerged as a decisive force in the selection of the BJP candidates from the state — has landed in a fresh controversy following the announcement of the first list of 20 party candidates.
On March 14, a complaint was lodged with the Bengaluru police by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, alleging sexual harassment of her daughter by Yediyurappa. The police registered a complaint under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and section 354 A of the IPC. The case has been transferred to the CID for investigation.
Yediyurappa has rejected the allegation, calling it false. On March 15, he said: “Around one or one-and-a-half months ago, they (victim and her mother) came to my house seeking help. After listening to her, I called city police commissioner B Dayananda over the phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected there was some health problem with her. I sent them to the city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in trouble. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I have faced in helping someone.”
Unlike the previous instances where the charges made by BJP dissidents pertained to the existence of private videos, the current allegation against Yediyurappa is of a serious nature since the POCSO law stipulates immediate arrest of an accused person.
Over the next week the Karnataka CID police are expected to record a formal statement in a court from the victim on what transpired at Yediyurappa’s residence during their visit to meet him in February 2024.
The statements in court of a POCSO victim are often the basis on which police take criminal action against suspects as seen in the case of Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru, a seer of the Muruga Rajendra Mutt in Chitradurga, during the previous BJP regime.
A case was registered against Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru by the Mysore police on August 26, 2022 under the POCSO Act after two girls aged 16 and 15 told members of the state Child Welfare Committee of being sexually assaulted between January 1, 2019, and June 6, 2022 at a girl’s hostel run by the Mutt.
The seer was arrested on September 1, 2022 after the victims, who had the backing of an NGO engaged in rescue of victims of sexual offences, gave statements in court before a judge.
In March 2021, BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was the then water resources minister in the Yediyurappa government, was forced to quit after a video of his intimacy with a young woman was aired on local channels. He was accused of rape by the woman after the CD was aired.
Jarkiholi filed a counter complaint with the police of extortion by an unidentified gang that recorded the sex video.
On February 4, 2022, a Special Investigation Team of the Bengaluru police filed a closure report in the sexual assault case against Jarkiholi. The closure report or “B” report was filed after the police did not find evidence to file a charge sheet. The closure report has been challenged by the woman complainant in the Supreme Court.
In the Yediyurappa case, while the CID will have to first establish the POCSO allegation it would also have to ascertain if the former was led into a trap since the interaction between the victim’s mother and the former CM over the alleged sexual harassment was recorded on a video.
“Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter. I do not want to speak about it now. It is a sensitive case as the allegations are against the former CM,” Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said.
Unfazed by the POCSO case, Yediyurappa attended a rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kalaburagi on March 16. He is also attending another Modi rally at Shivamogga, his home turf, on Monday.
The POCSO case against Yediyurappa is likely to be dealt with cautiously by the Siddaramaiah-led
Congress government and the BJP leadership itself, given his stature as the state’s top Lingayat leader and ex-CM.
The sidelining of Yediyurappa by the BJP leadership ahead of the May 2023 state polls was widely believed to have damaged the BJP’s prospects. Several BJP leaders who lost the Assembly elections, especially from the camp of party national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, alleged that a “tacit understanding” between Yediyurappa and Congress leaders caused their defeat.
Following the Assembly poll debacle, the BJP leadership brought Yediyurappa back to the forefront of the party’s affairs by appointing his son B Y Vijayendra as the state BJP president in November 2023.
Yediyurapa’s imprint is now seen in the BJP’s selection of as many as six of the 20 candidates announced for the Lok Sabha polls. The party has changed candidates in nine seats so far.
Apart from securing a seat for his elder son B Y Raghavendra from the Shivamogga seat, Yediyurappa is believed to have played a role in the denial of tickets to ex-Mysuru MP Prathap Simha and former national party general secretary C T Ravi who was aspiring for the Chikamagalur seat. Ex-state BJP president Nalin Kateel has also not got a ticket for the Mangaluru seat. All these three leaders are believed to be affiliated to B L Santhosh, considered as Yediyurappa’s rival, whose role in Karnataka party affairs has seemingly reduced with the former CM’s comeback.
Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa has blamed Yediyurappa for the denial of the party ticket to his son K E Kanthesh from the Haveri seat, where Basavaraj Bommai has been fielded. In retaliation, Eshwarappa has threatened to contest as an Independent against Raghavendra in Shivamogga.
A former close aide of Yediyurappa, Union minister Shobha Karandlaje, who now enjoys the backing
of the BJP high command, has been shifted from her Udupi-Chikmagalur seat, where her prospect was not considered bright, to the Bengaluru North seat. Yediyurappa reportedly backed former minister V Somanna for the Tumkur seat.
“It cannot be said that any one group has had a say in the selection of the BJP candidates. The preferences of all groups have been considered. Some of the candidates are choices of the high command, some of the Sangh Parivar, some from the Yediyurappa and Santhosh camps,” BJP sources said.
Yediyurappa has however been pacifying disgruntled leaders like Eshwarappa and Jagadish Shettar after they failed to secure tickets in the first list. Eshwarappa’s son has been offered an MLC post while Shettar is likely to be fielded from Belagavi where his son’s mother-in-law is the current BJP MP.
The BJP candidates such as Annasaheb Jolle (Chikkodi), Bhagwant Khuba (Bidar), Tejasvi Surya (Bengaluru South), Srinivas Poojary (UdupI-Chikmagalur), C N Manjunath (Bengaluru Rural), Brajesh Chowta (Dakshina Kannada), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) are not from the Yediyurappa camp.
The BJP has allotted three of the state’s 28 Lok Sabha seats to its ally, the Janata Dal (Secular). The BJP has also given its ticket to C N Manjunath, the son-in-law of the JD(S) supremo and ex-PM H D Deve Gowda, to contest from the Bengaluru Rural seat. In the 2019 polls, the BJP, fighting solo, had won 25 seats in the state.
