Nitin Gadkari to take BSY along

NEW DELHI: With Chief Minister Yeddyurappa turning out to be an albatross round BJP’s neck, party president Nitin Gadkari has adopted the approach of carrying him along, even if he has to take the extreme decision of removing him as Karnataka Chief Minister.While awaiting the Lokayukta report, Gadkari on Monday said he had talked to the CM. “The CM has agreed to abide by the decision I take,” he said. By making public what transpired between him and Yeddyurappa, the BJP chief appeared to be playing safe, making the CM bound to a commitment.According to sources, the BJP will take its own time to take a call on Yeddyurappa, since it wants to avoid a confrontation with the most popular Lingayat leader in the State, who has proved his political mettle several times in the past by winning elections for the local bodies and civic bodies as well as byelections.“We don’t act on perception.As soon as we get the report, we will take appropriate action,” Gadkari said, before the press persons could grill him on the Yeddyurappa issue.Sources said Gadkari was open to the suggestion of conducting a probe into the allegations levelled by Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on illegal-mining, as suggested by Yeddyurappa. As the CM has declared that if guilty, he would not only resign but retire from politics, the BJP high command is in no mood to rub him on the wrong side.Only after giving him a patient hearing and taking him into confidence about their future plans, the BJP president will think of acting against him.By holding a probe by a three-member committee comprising M Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and Dharmendra Pradhan, which will submit its report within two months, the BJP high command will not only be buying time but will also get an opportunity to raise its pitch against the PM and Chidambaram on the 2G Spectrum scam during the monsoon session of Parliament.A senior party leader said it would not be mandatory for the CM to resign after being indicted by the Lokayukta.It would be up to the high command to take a call on the appropriateness of the action against Yeddyurappa, he added.