War in K'taka BJP: Rebel leaders will be answered, says BSY on Eshwarappa

Bengaluru: Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president BS Yeddyurappa on Thursday lashed out at senior party leader KS Eshwarappa for creating ruckus in the party, asserting that rebel leaders will be given an appropriate answer.

"The senior leadership, as well as the people, is witnessing all that is happening. The rebel leaders will be given an appropriate answer. Had Eshwarappa sat down and discussed his concerns, the party would not face such a situation," said Yeddyurappa.

Yeddyurappa further stated that while Eshwarappa was defying the senior leadership by calling for such meetings, BL Santosh was the mastermind who engineered the rebellion.

This is the first time, the leader has launched a full-fledged attack against B L Santosh, an RSS man, who enjoys considerable clout with national president Amit Shah.

Earlier, Yeddyurappa had accused Eshwarappa of 'creating problems' in the party.

Eshwarappa earlier on Thursday held a convention to "save" the party in defiance of its state president BS Yeddyurappa's warning against it. At the convention, he questioned why Yeddyurappa did not call meeting of 'disgruntled' party leaders as directed by BJP national president Amit Shah.

"...you call us anti-party or whatever you want, but our blood won't change... we will not go to any one at any cost, we will not join another party or form another party," he said adding that those who had gone out of the party are now warning of action.

The remarks were aimed at Yeddyurappa who had quit the BJP and formed Karnataka Janata Paksha which fared badly in the 2013 polls. Later, he had returned to the BJP.

The rebel leaders' meeting in Bengaluru came months after both, Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa were called to Delhi to sort their differences.

Both leaders were pulled up by the senior leadership and Eshwarappa was asked to refrain from all independent activities of the Sangolli Rayanna brigade.