Nagaraj Shetty resigns from post of KCDA chairman

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 25: Padmanabha Kottari, the district BJP president, confirmed that B. Nagaraj Shetty, the chairman of the Karnataka Coastal Development Authority (KCDA), has indeed resigned.

Mr. Kottari told reporters that Mr. Shetty had requested him to relieve him from the post of chairman of the Karnataka Coastal Development Authority for personal reasons. Stating that he had not yet rejected the resignation letter, he said that he has informed the state leaders of the BJP about it.

Reliable BJP sources, however, have revealed that Mr. Shetty has not only resigned from the post of chairman of Karnataka Coastal Development Authority, but also from the party.

Close associates of Mr. Shetty also say that CM B. S. Yeddyurappa has arranged a meeting with him in Bangalore.

According to sources, Mr. Shetty has resigned because he is furious about the arrest of A. Govinda Prabhu, a BJP leader and president of the Bantwal Urban Development Authority, in relation to an assault case as well as criminal charges registered against two other BJP workers. An anonymous BJP source said that Mr. Shetty might have been miffed because he could not use his influence to prevent the arrest of Mr. Prabhu.

Mr. Shetty has been known to send resignation letters in the past too. In 2006, he had resigned from the posts of district-in-charge minister and fisheries minister owing to allegations that he had failed to maintain peace when unrest prevailed over the district. BJP leaders, including Yeddyurappa, who was then the deputy chief minister, succeeded in convincing Mr. Shetty to withdraw his resignation.