Bangalore, August 31: Karnataka Housing Minister V Somanna, who lost the Aug 18 Assembly bypoll, today resigned but Social Welfare Minister D Sudhakar chargesheeted by CBI in a bank cheating case struck a defiant posture and declined to heed Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s advice to quit.
Sudhakar’s reluctance to put in his papers not only brought embarrassment to the Chief Minister but also to the BJP leadership, prompting Yeddyurappa to deploy a team of emissaries to convince him to resign.
Yeddyurappa, who had advised Sudhakar to resign his ministership “under the circumstances”, waited for the minister for more than 40 minutes but he failed to turn up.
BJP MP G M Siddesh from Davanagere informed Yeddyurappa about Sudhakar’s unwillingness to resign, after which Transport Minister R Ashok was deputed to hold talks with the defiant minister, party sources said.
“Yes I had told you that Sudhakar will resign. I will inform you after he tenders resignation”, was the reply by Yeddyurappa when reporters asked him about the delay.
Party sources said Sudhakar maintained that CBI had only filed a chargesheet against him and it was yet to be admitted by the court and there was no need for him to quit at this stage.
Sudhakar is one of the six independent MLAs supporting the BJP government.
Earlier in the day, Somanna, who failed to secure the mandate in the August 18 bypoll from Govindarajanagar assembly seat, resigned from the ministry and Governor H R Bhardwaj accepted it.
—Agencies