By sacking 30 from the CMO, is Yeddy singling out the moles?

With CM downsizing on personal staff, speculations are rife that Yeddyurappa fears someone is leaking key information to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda

By sacking 30 from the CMO, is Yeddy singling out the moles?

With CM downsizing on personal staff, speculations are rife that Yeddyurappa fears someone is leaking key information to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is currently downsizing his personal staff strength, giving rise to much speculation. While rumour has it that the CM fears his staff is leaking information to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, sources say that his exercise is futile, as he is sacking the wrong people and the black sheep actually doing it are still in office.

Illustration/ Jishu Dev Malakar

Already he is understood to have sacked over 30 officials accusing them of leaking information to Gowda. Six clerks, who are permanent employees were transferred from the CM's office yesterday, while services of 26 contract employees were terminated.

'Routine transfers'
The official reason given was that the office was overstaffed with the current strength being 250 and the CM wanted to downsize to 150. "It is only a routine affair of transfers and the CM asked us to make changes as required. Accordingly, we prepared a list and the process is on," said an official.

However, insiders said that they were removed because Yeddyurappa suspected them of leaking information to Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, former CM and state president of the JD(S), who are exposing scams involving the CM and his family members. Interestingly, a majority of the employees being shown the door, are from the Vokkaliga community, of which Gowda is an iconic leader. While the current political scenario has developed into a slugfest between Vokkaliga and Lingayat, to which Yeddyurappa belongs, the decision to downsize is only adding to the confusion.

Still in the flock
However, sources in the CM's office said that the sacked staff members had not indulged in leaking information, but the black sheep who did, were still in the office. "The persons who leak information to the Gowda family are across departments in the government and it is difficult to identify them. I think the CM is being wrongly advised by somebody and he is indulging in a futile exercise," said a BJP leader. Yeddyurappa's move appears to have been prompted by Kumaraswamy's recent threat to expose a big scam. The former CM is expected to reveal the details today in Delhi, and Yeddyurappa is allegedly suspecting that his staff members might have provided the incriminating documents.

A wary CM?
The scam to be exposed by Kumaraswamy is expected to be big, since he had even accused the CM of attempting to buy his silence. Denying the allegation, Yeddyurappa dared him to state the same before Lord Manjunatha of Dharmasthala shrine, and the farce is continuing. Yeddyurappa has reportedly always been wary of the Gowda family because of their connections with bureaucrats, and them being able to procure documents is not a difficult task. H D Revanna, Kumaraswamy's elder brother and legislator party leader of the JD(S), is famously well versed with the skill of collecting government documents. Once the CM had lamented that government files go to Gowda's house and are not available for ministers to view.

Spat continues
Coming down heavily on Yeddyurappa's move, Kumaraswamy said, "It is not only a foolish move, but it also shows cowardice on the CM's part. If he is honest and his government is transparent, then why is doing this? The very act shows he is corrupt." Seeking to clear the air, Yeddyurappa said the downsizing was nothing to do with politics. "I am not scared of anybody. It is a government affair and Kumaraswamy has no right to comment."

250
The current strength at the Chief Minister's Office

150
Number that Yeddyurappa wants to downsize to