Shettar is Karnataka CM, Promises Graft-Free Regime

Besdies Yeddyurappa, around 20 of 120 BJP legislators, including several ministers, are fighting cases of corruption and illegal land deals against them.

Shettar himself was Wednesday slapped with a complaint in Lokayukta (ombudsman) court alleging that he had violated rules to free 176 acres of government land on Bangalore's outskirts when he was revenue minister six years ago in the Janata Dal-Secular and BJP coalition government.

The complaint claims this caused a loss of over 250 crore to the state exchequer at current market prices of the land. It does not, however, charge Shettar with gaining monetarily or otherwise from this act.

Lokayukta court judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao said he will decide July 21 whether the allegation in the complaint needs a probe.

Shettar denied any wrongdoing and said he will legally fight the case. Shettar succeeds Gowda, who quit Wednesday. Gowda became the chief minister Aug 4 last year after Yeddyurappa resigned July 31.

Gowda fell victim to the dissidence that had hit the party almost from the beginning of its maiden rule in the state in May 2008.

The ministers who took oath Thursday are: Govind Karjola, C.M. Udasi, Basavaraj Bommai, Vishwanath Hegde Kageri, S. Suresh Kumar, Umesh Katti, Murugesh Nirani, V. Somanna, Shobha Karandlaje, M.P. Renukacharya, C.P. Yogeshwar, B.N. Bachche Gowda, Revu Naik Belamagi, Balachandra Jarkiholi, Anand Asnotikar, S.A. Ramdas, A. Narayanswamy, S. A. Ravindra Nath, C.T. Ravi, D.N. Jeevraj, Raju Gowda, S.K. Bellubbi, S. Shivanna, Varthur Prakash, Arvind Limbavali, Anand Singh, B.J. Puttaswamy, Appachu Ranjan, Kalakappa Bandi, Sunil Vallyapur, and Kota Srinivas Pujari.

Shobha Karandlaje remains the lone woman member in the ministry while Varthur Prakash is an independent supporting the BJP.