BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s media adviser Mahadev Prakash has resigned from his post. This is the second such high-profile exit from his inner circle within a month. “I am resigning from the post of media adviser due to personal reasons,” Prakash stated in his letter to Yediyurappa, dated November 18, “thanking him for the opportunity.” Prakash is said to have been hand-picked by Yediyurappa himself soon after the formation of the BJP government in August 2019.
The other casualty of Team Yediyurappa was journalist-turned-political adviser M B Maramkal who was a victim of friendly fire. The party’s inner circle explained that he was eased out because of his differences with a member of Yediyurappa’s family.
Both Prakash and Maramkal are Lingayats, the dominant community to which Yediyurappa belongs. They are seen as staunch Yediyurappa supporters and are credited with advising him to bring the 17 turncoats into the BJP fold and helping him cobble up the government.
Sources close to Prakash stated that his unhappiness started right from the time the media was banned from covering the assembly and council and was kept out of the legislative quarters. The CM then reportedly told him that he was helpless as it was the prerogative of the Speaker.
At that point of time, Prakash had advised the CM to restore press freedom and had come under criticism by a member of Yediyurappa’s cabinet. Political circles are abuzz over this meltdown with the exit of two of the CM’s supporters in quick succession at a time when Yediyurappa ensured the BJP won all bypolls.
D 15 L — some plane-speaking this!
Bengaluru: About Rs 15 lakh — just for a visit to Delhi and back the same day. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa took a private chartered flight from HAL to Delhi at 11.30 am on Wednesday and landed at New Delhi airport at 2.30 pm. On the return journey, he took the flight back from Delhi at 8.30 pm and landed at HAL airport at 11.30 pm. He flew in a special aircraft with call sign VT-SNP which is a GulfStream G 200 jet. The aircraft costs about $ 20.5 m (Rs 152 cr ) and a round-trip to Delhi would cost Rs 15 lakh. The GulfStream G 200 has been registered under Sobha-Puravankara Aviation and costs about Rs 2.5 lakh per hour. This is the CM’s second trip to Delhi in three months. The previous trip in September was also by a special flight — a Hawker 800 — and cost the exchequer Rs 20 lakh. — Bansy Kalappa