Fighting scandals,theyre all Sathya Sai Baba devotees

They were all there at Puttaparthi on Monday the politicians fighting sundry scams and scandals across India.

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They were all there at Puttaparthi on Monday the politicians fighting sundry scams and scandals across the country,streaming in to seek Sathya Sai Babas blessings on his 85th birthday celebrations.

Always a grand,well-attended affair,the birthday drew everyone from the outgoing B S Yeddyurappa and the replaced Ashok Chavan to an embattled Rosaiah and a cornered Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The PM attended the convocation ceremony of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in the morning.

His time as Karnataka Chief Minister limited,Yeddyurappa was one of the first visitors in the morning to Sai Babas ashram,Prashanti Nilayam,in Andhras Anantapur district. Keeping the BJP high command and its summons waiting,he chose to take a detour to Puttaparthi before leaving for Delhi. Incidentally,L K Advani too dropped in for several hours at the ashram. Though Yeddyurappa is not known to be a follower of Sai Baba,a special private meeting was arranged for the beleaguered CM.

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A tense-looking Rosaiah lost his cool when he saw some supporters of Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy raising slogans at the Puttaparthi airport on his arrival. Do you want me to resign? Will that make you happy? the Andhra Chief Minister snapped at them.

Rosaiah is expected to visit New Delhi on Tuesday to brief the party leadership about a programme on Sakshi TV,owned by Jaganmohan,that criticised Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister. As he was seeking blessings of Sai Baba,state government employees unions across the state threatened to go on strike from Tuesday to press for their demands.

The CM would be proceeding to Bangalore from here and from there to New Delhi tomorrow morning, an official said.

Ashok Chavan,who was recently made to step down as the Maharashtra Chief Minister following the Adarsh scam,arrived discreetly at Prashanti Nilayam on Sunday night. He will be staying back till the end of the celebrations.

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Andhra Minister for Information and Public Relations Dr Geeta Reddy,often touted as a possible replacement for Rosaiah,also sought a special audience with the Sai Baba. Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin prostrated before speaking to him,while Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu who is touring in the neighbouring Kurnool district and Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi were expected to reach the ashram by evening.

An official of Prashanti Nilayam said over 5 lakh people,from 85 countries,were attending the month-long celebrations.