Bangalore, July 15: Haladi Srinivas Shetty was the unanimous choice of BJP?leaders in Udupi for the ministerial berth, but the party changed its decision, said Kota Srinivas Poojary, who was sworn in as minister on Thursday instead of Shetty.
The last-minute change has led to Shetty's resignation as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Shetty has said that he felt humiliated with the party denying him a ministerial berth, especially after inviting him to the swearing-in ceremony in Bangalore. The resignation has not been accepted by the Speaker.
Meanwhile, protests have continued in the Kundapur Assembly constituency over the “injustice” meted out to Shetty, but no one is questioning as to why Poojary was preferred over Shetty.
Poojary said he does not foresee any immediate solution to the problem being faced in the district unit of the party. State-level leaders should intervene to find a solution, he said.
Poojary maintained that he did not dream of becoming a minister. The district unit of the party was in favour of a Cabinet berth for Shetty.
“When Jagadish Shettar called me on Wednesday to inform me that I will be a minister, I told my colleagues. They advised me not to accept it as Shetty should be the natural choice. Accordingly, I decided against going to Raj Bhavan. But later, I received calls from Eshwarappa and Ananth Kumar. I could not refuse the offer then because I have no courage to go against the party direction. I had never lobbied for ministership because I have no contacts in Delhi,” he said.
Poojary added that his family members were also not in Bangalore to witness the swearing-in ceremony as he was in the City to see Shetty take oath as minister.
When asked if he was ready to resign to accommodate Shetty, he said: “The party, keeping social justice in view, has taken some decision and made me the minister. If it wants me to resign, I will do so.”
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