Battle of the sexes in BJP

Women in party want action against Renukacharya for suggesting some of them used their charms on senior leaders to climb political ladderALLs FAIR IN WAR Bharathi Shetty and RenukacharyaHell hath no fury like a woman scorned M P Renukacharya should know After all the member of Legislative Assembly MLA has burned his fingers before with his cavalier attitude towards the delicate feelings of the opposite sexIf in the past it was a lady friend making public intimate pictures and demanding justice because she felt she had been used for pleasure and discarded now it is the ladies of the state Bharatiya Janata Party BJP who have sounded the battle cry against the Honnali MLA for demeaning women in public during his recent rebellion against the chief minister when he had lashed out against women who got too close to senior leaders for personal gain Leading the charge is Bharathi Shetty BJP Mahila Morcha presidentHe is no gentlemanSHETTY is learnt to have launched a scathing attack on the legislator at a party officebearers meeting yesterday for casting aspersions on some women leaders including herTears rolling down her cheeks Shetty said women in the party were hurt by Renukacharyas vitriolic attack against them in public said a party insiderI think he has no respect towards woman Shetty is understood to have said in the meeting attended by Yeddyurappa and senior leader H N Ananth Kumar His behaviour is completely against BJP culture and someone has to teach him etiquetteKarandlaje ousterIn the recent BJP MLAs rebellion led by G Janardana Reddy Renukacharya was reportedly at the forefront of engineering the ouster of Shobha Karandlaje from Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappas cabinet by making it a condition of the ceasefire deal ultimately reached with himYeddyurappa survived and has since been said to be plotting and planning to get back at the rebelsSpewing venom on Karandlaje who is a close friend of Yeddyurappa Renukacharya had gone on to say some women were trying to influence senior leadersu00a0 in the party and acquire lucrative positions by getting close to themLove scandalRenukacharya had hit the headlines a couple of years ago when a nurse believed to have been his lover Jayalakshmi had made public some intimate pictures of them together She had accused him of discarding her after sexually exploiting her and had lodged a complaint with the state womens commission At the time Renukacharaya was seen as a staunch Yeddyurappa loyalist and the chief minister stood by him in the crisis The Jayalakshmi case files soon disappeared in the labyrinth of the womens commission corridorsu00a0 Pramila Nesargi a former BJP MLA who was president of the womens commission when the incident happened said there were no lapse on the part of the commission No the files did not go missing but Jayalakshmi took her complaint back and the case was closed Nesargi said Later there were even unconfirmed reports that Renukacharya and Jayalakshmi had reached an understanding and that their romance was back on trackSisters in armsOn the latest drama Nesargi said she could not endorse Renukacharyas public comments on the women in the BJP He must mind his tongue she said His utterances were not at all in good taste But she also blamed the women in the party for not resisting the unjust steps taken by the ruling BJP I in fact called a meeting of BJP women when Renukacharaya and others were pressing for Shobha Karandlajes removal she said We could have taken a delegation to Delhi to save her but nobody turned up What is the use of shedding tears nowIt is a different story that amid all this Yeddyurappa may be in no position to take any kind of action on the Shetty allegations as he is yet to fully consolidate his position after just about managing to save his chairThe crossfireCriticising senior leaders Renukacharya recently said A particular leader is showering favours on Bharathi Shetty She is an MLC apart from being president of the Mahila Morcha She has been given three petrol bunks That is because of her close proximity to some people while the others are not so privilegedReacting to this Bharathi Shetty said Doesnt he have sisters Being a peoples representative how can he speak in such bad taste about women Speaking to MiD DAY on Shettys charge Renukacharaya said My critiscism was based on issues and I am not against women I know I must respect women and I am doing it But what is happening in BJP is something different and I had to raise my voice against it