Yeddyurappa to resign on July 31, BJP central leadership to elect new leader

New Delhi/Bangalore, July 29 (ANI): Under sharp criticism for his alleged role in the illegal mining scam, a defiant Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa issued a statement on late Thursday night, saying he will tendered his resignation on July 31.

The latest developments came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership asked Yeddyurappa to step down from his post in the wake of Lokayukta, Justice (retired) N. Santosh Hegde, naming him as having committed acts of corruption in his report.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and and Rajnath Singh will visit Bangalore today as observers to oversee the election of a new legislature party leader.

According to reports, the leaders, who have emerged as top contenders for the chief minister's post are Karnataka BJP president KS Eshwarappa, Lok Sabha MP Sadanand Gowda, Higher Education Minister V S Acharya, Law and Justice Minister Suresh Kumar S, party national general secretary and MP Ananth Kumar, Rural Development minister Jagadish Shettar, a Lingayat leader and Yeddyurappa's close associate and minister Shoba Karandlaje.

The BJP Parliamentary Board earlier on Thursday after a meeting attended by party veterans L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu announced that that there needs to be a change of Chief Minister in Karnataka.

"This morning the BJP Parliamentary Board met at the residence of Nitin Gadkari. In the presence of various leaders the Board has unanimously decided that there should be a change in the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Accordingly the party has asked current Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has been asked to tender his resignation immediately," said BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Justice Hegde on Wednesday confirmed that Lokayukta registrar Moosa Kunhi NayarMoole had submitted the illegal mining report to the state Chief Secretary S V Ranganath.

Justice Hegde also confirmed that the report indicts Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, members of his family and a trust run by them, and added that in the four-year period between 2006 and 2010, the loss to the Karnataka exchequer from illegal mining was to the tune of Rs.16, 085 crores. (ANI)

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