BANGALORE: In a new turn to the squabbles in the State Bharatiya Janata Party, the central leadership has taken note of the report sent by the disciplinary action committee headed by "Mukhyamantri" Chandru, MLC, and summoned Deputy Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa, Minister for Science and Technology Ramachandra Gowda and Shobha Karandlaje, MLC, to New Delhi to explain their role in the recent developments.

Former Union Minister and party MP Basanagouda Patil R. Yatnal's show of rebellion last week, has already created consternation and he has already been called to Delhi and he faces a probable reprimand. The meeting will take place on Monday.

The report sent confidentially by the disciplinary action committee has highlighted another curious twist to the State BJP's tangled tale of the past 10 months. Mr. Chandru had resigned as chairman of the committee a day after the Cabinet expansion in February protesting against the "autocratic" manner in which Mr. Yediyurappa had defied party diktat to juggle the ministerial candidates, and include three more than the eight members whom the central leadership had wanted to be sworn in.

The three surprise entries were those of D.H. Shankaramurthy, Mr. Ramachandra Gowda, MLCs, and Nagaraj Shetty, MLA. However, the surprise with regard to the inclusion of the first two, who are party veterans was because of the proximity of the end of their term as MLCs.

Opposition surfaced in the Dakshina Kannada unit to the inclusion of Mr. Nagaraj Shetty.

However, Mr. Chandru's resignation was not accepted, and during the recent revamp of the party officer-bearers list, the disciplinary action committee was left untouched.

Aravind Limbavali, MLC, and Narahari Phadke are its other members.

Mr. Chandru told The Hindu that under the circumstances, he had concluded that he was still the chairman of the committee and sent a detailed report to the central party leadership detailing the many "disturbing developments in the party ever since the August 7, 2005 incident, in which Mr. Yediyurappa had virtually threatened to leave the party along with a large chunk of the 79 MLAs.

Mr. Chandru said he was not defending Mr. Yatnal, but only highlighting the fact that under Mr. Yediyurappa's "dictatorial dispensation", leaders like Mr. Yatnal no longer had a forum within the party to air their grievances.

Mr. Chandru himself had been forced to call a press conference and announce his resignation, as he had not been given a hearing.

"Till today, no one has called me or asked what my grievance is," Mr. Chandru said.

The suggestion that Mr. Yatnal should be reprimanded by the high command originated in the State unit, but again, Mr. Chandru points out, this decision was taken by Mr. Yediyurappa and his Cabinet colleagues.

These issues must be discussed by the party's office-bearers, not the Ministers, whose job is to run the Government, Mr. Chandru said.

His contention is that Mr. Yatnal must be punished if he had violated party discipline. But he should not be singled out while others had done the same on many occasions in the past 10 months.

Meanwhile, Prahlad Joshi, MP and party spokesperson, said he was not aware of the report sent by Mr. Chandru, but he confirmed that Mr. Yediyurappa and others had also been called to Delhi so that they everyone got a fair hearing.

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