BJP issues show cause notice to its MLA for remarks on PM Modi

Karnataka's Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal had earlier made several remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi while fighting for flood relief in Karnataka

Bengaluru: BJP central leadership on Friday (October 3) issued a show cause notice to BJP MLA from Vijayapura, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, after taking serious note of his statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior party functionaries.

Party's Central Disciplinary Committee member-secretary Om Pathak, in his notice, said, "Your intent, utterances and allegations against the party and its leaders constitute a serious breach of the party discipline as defined in the constitution and rules of the Bharatiya Janata Party."

The party leadership took note of his public interviews between October 1 and 3. It noted that he insulted and denigrated the "herculean efforts" undertaken by the BJP to secure flood relief for Karnataka.

"(You) Threatened the party and its leaders by suggesting to the people of Karnataka and inciting them to teach the party leaders a lesson by thrashing them, thus calling for physical violence and causing unrest among people by spreading lies," the notice read.

It also said he was spreading lies against the party leadership.

Continuing his tirade against the Union ministers and MPs from Karnataka over "failure" to get Central grants for flood-hit north Karnataka, Yatnal on Thursday said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and take up the matter.

"I will write to the Prime Minister today itself and seek an appointment with him to brief him about the flood situation,” Patil had told reporters in Vijayapura.

He further said that other leaders from North Karnataka could join him if they wished, and asked the Union ministers to attend to their work and meet the Prime Minister.

"Go and do your job and meet the Prime Minister. You all are Union ministers. Why are you sitting in Hubballi and Bengaluru? Go to Delhi and get Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre," Yatnal said.

A former Union minister, Yatnal has been vocal against the BJP leadership, including Union ministers and MPs from Karnataka, for the past few days over getting Central grants to carry out relief works in North Karnataka.

On Tuesday, he had said that the Prime Minister tweeting concern for Bihar flood victims and not for those affected in Karnataka has made people feel that he does not care about the state with no immediate polls being held there.

Pathak asked Yatnal to furnish his explanation within 10 days from the receipt of the notice asking him why the party should not take disciplinary action against him.