New Delhi, 1 Aug

BJP on Thursday placated its miffed ally Janata Dal (Secular) into joining its 'padyatra' against the alleged MUDA scam and asserted that JD(S) leader and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy will be part of the march starting from Bengaluru on 3 August.

The development comes a day after JD(S) on Wednesday pulled out of the proposed foot march against the alleged irregularities in the distribution of sites by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), including to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife.

Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and BJP General Secretary Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, who is in charge of the party's affairs in the State, played down Kumaraswamy's earlier announcement of keeping out of the yatra.

Kumaraswamy had expressed anger over the mention of BJP leader Preetham Gowda, who was instrumental in exposing the alleged sex scandal involving the JD(S) leader's nephew Prajwal Revanna, as a key organiser of the foot march.

Senior BJP leaders met Kumaraswamy earlier in the day to placate him, sources said. Agrawal said both BJP and JD(S) are organising the foot march from Bengaluru to Mysuru from 3 August to 10 August to protest the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites by MUDA.

About the JD(S) leader's unhappiness with the presence of Gowda, Agrawal said the yatra is a programme of the party's organisation and individuals are not invited. Vijayendra as the BJP's President in Karnataka and Kumaraswamy as his party's face in the State will be the key figures in the programme, he said. Kumaraswamy will be there at the yatra on 3 August, he said.

He was also dismissive of claims by BJP dissidents, including seasoned party leader Basangouda Patil Yatnal, saying there can be some aberrations in a big party like BJP. Yatnal has alleged that Vijayendra is hand in glove with Congress leader and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to unseat Siddaramaiah. —PTI