K'taka CM claims threat to life from 'black magic'

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday claimed there was a conspiracy to eliminate him by taking recourse to "black magic" after efforts to use it to unseat him from power failed.

In remarks that are bound to raise the political heat in the state further, "Those who indulged in black magic to unseat me from power and failed are involved in it again. There is a conspiracy to eliminate me. I am not even sure whether I will return home after visiting Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat)," said Yeddyurappa, who has been facing unending troubles since becoming chief minister in 2008.

Yeddyurappa, who was instrumental in bringing the Bharatiya Janata Party to power for the first time in the south, overcame two bouts of internal revolt and won the confidence motion twice in assembly before facing a criminal case for alleged corruption, with Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj sanctioning his prosecution recently.

On October 11 last year, when Yeddyurappa faced the first floor test, chopped chicken heads and vermillion-smeared puja articles were found strewn near the Vidhana Soudha, fuelling rumours that it was part of witchcraft.

The Karnataka CM had then blamed the opposition for it, but they had accused him of indulging in such practises to remain in power. When a reporter asked him whether he calls alleged black magic a "threat to his life", he shot back with, "So what?"

Known for his frequent visits to temples, especially during crisis, and for liberal donations, often inviting opposition ridicule and criticism, Yeddyurappa, however, said he would not be cowed down by such threats. He said he would soon write to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh complaining against Bhardwaj for his remarks "Ulta chor kotwal ko dante", terming it as an insult to him and also to the six crore people of the state. The controversial remarks of Bhardwaj, who has been consistently at loggerheads with Yeddyurappa, came recently after the state cabinet advised him not to proceed on the petition seeking his nod for the chief minister's prosecution.

"The BJP high command is fully supporting me. I want to tell those outside the BJP and also our partymen that there will be a BJP government in Karnataka for the remaining two years tenure. Nobody can dislodge it," he said.

Asked about BJP leader Shatrugan Sinha's observation that he should quit over the allegations of corruption and land scams, Yeddyurappa declined to react to it. "I don't want to react. All I can say is the party high command is fully supporting me," he said.

Yeddyurappa was in Mysore along with Sri Shivakumara Swamiji, the pontiff of Siddaganga mutt in Tumkur, to attend a mass marriage organised by the Suttur Mutt, a prominent religious institution of majority Lingayat community.