BENGALURU: Bharatiya Janata Party state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel seems determined to change the way things function. In an attempt ostensibly aimed at bringing greater synergy between the party and government, he has directed the ministers to regularly visit the state party headquarters, interact with the party workers and redress issues raised by them.
A similar arrangement is already in place at the party’s national headquarters in New Delhi where Union Ministers regularly visit the party office. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa currently has 17 ministers in his cabinet of whom three are from Bengaluru. According to BJP sources, Kateel has sent out a message to all the ministers to visit to the party office ‘Jagannath Bhavan’ located at Malleswaram at routine intervals. “Each one of them were told to visit the office twice a month at a specific time between 3 pm and 5 pm to interact and instil confidence in party workers,’’ sources said.
Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi was the first to visit the party office on Thursday and interact with the BJP workers. Speaking to The New Indian Express, Savadi said, “After we became ministers, it has become difficult for us to meet party workers at one place as we will be travelling across the state. If a time and date is fixed for each minister, the workers who wants to meet us can do so at the appointed time,’’ he said. “Kateel has informed us about the exercise. This was decided after a discussion,’’ he added.
“When Kateel took charge as state unit president in August this year, he stressed that a common worker can become state president and that it can happen only in BJP. He is always concerned about the party workers. Whenever he visits the Bengaluru office, he makes it a point to interact with those working at grassroots,’’ sources pointed out.
Kateel told TNIE that the visits by ministers will be informal. “It is an attempt to keep ministers in touch with the party cadre. In Delhi too, Union ministers visit the party headquarters regular, at stipulated time,’’
he added.
No BJP member involved in BSY video leak
Mangaluru: BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel said no BJP worker was involved in leaking the controversial video of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. A video from a BJP meeting was leaked where BSY was heard saying that party’s national president Amit Shah supervised Operation Lotus and MLAs resigned to topple the coalition government. Kateel, responding to TNIE, said, “I have held a press meet in this connection. None of the BJP workers were behind the leak.” When he was asked if BJP has initiated a probe into the matter, he seemed unwilling to answer. However, after the press prodded him to answer, he said BJP wasn’t involved. He was speaking at a press meet held to highlight the 100 days’ achievements of B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government. He also evaded questions on BJP government publishing a book hailing Tipu Sultan in 2013. ENS