Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has expelled the rebel leader of Karnataka and MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Wednesday for six years. After he was expelled, he posted a strongly worded reply on the social media platform X. Yatnal sarcastically said that he has been ‘rewarded’ by the saffron party for ‘Calling a Spade, a Spade’ and declared that his suspension would not deter his ‘fight against the corruption’ and other issues.
In his post he said, “The decision to suspend me will not deter my fight against corruption, family politics, development of North Karnataka & Hindutva. I will continue to serve my people with the same vigour & tenacity.”
Yatnal has been locking horns with the Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra and the latter’s father B S Yediyurappa (Ex-Chief Minister of Karnataka) for quite some time.
The BJP expelled Yeddyurappa’s harsh critic, Yatnal, from the party after issuing two show-cause notices to him. Yatnal has also been levelling “dynasty politics” charges against the father-son duo, as per PTI.
The order issued by the Central Disciplinary Committee (CDC) member Om Pathak said, “Central Disciplinary Committee of the party has considered your response to the show cause notice dated 10 February 2025 and has taken serious note of your repeated violation of the party discipline, despite your assurances of good behavior and conduct in response to earlier show cause notices.”
The order continued, “It has accordingly been decided to expel you for a period of six years with immediate effect from the primary membership of the party and you stand removed from any party position that you may hold until now.”
According to media reports, this expulsion came around six weeks after a second show-cause notice was issued to Yatnal. Further, the show-cause notice of February 10 was the second in three months, and the first such notice was issued to Yatnal by the BJP leadership in December 2024.
Vijayendra’s Reaction
On the other hand, the BJP’s Karnataka President in a post on X said that the party’s priority is discipline and sacrifice.
He wrote, “The Bharatiya Janata Party, a political party that has attained worldwide prominence with millions of workers, and a party that has grown like a prosperous tree through the sweat and effort of dedicated workers who have embraced the Sangh Sanskar, places priority on discipline and sacrifice.”
He described Yatnal’s expulsion as an ‘inevitable’ step which was taken by the senior leaders of the party.
“We have no example of party elders and seniors ever compromising on this issue; the current disciplinary action against @BasanagoudaBJP is an inevitable step taken by the seniors after observing the situation for a long time,” he added.
Vijayendra, in the post, said that he grew up in a cultured organisation that teaches the lesson of dedication and sacrifice. Hence, he does not celebrate the disciplinary action against his critic, Yatnal.
I have never been upset by the bitter incidents that took place a few days ago, I have not expressed my sorrow to anyone, I have grown up in a cultured organization that teaches the lesson of dedication and sacrifice, and I have considered tolerance and patience as the cornerstone of carrying out my responsibilities. In this regard, I cannot celebrate the disciplinary action taken by the higher-ups, but rather lament this development as unfortunate.”
