Bengaluru: Election Commission's marching orders for Kempaiah

Bengaluru: In a move that the BJP has crowed is “a slap on the face of the Chief Minister,”  the office of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's aide and security adviser to the home minister, M. Kempaiah, and all advisors has ceased to exist, based on the advisory from the Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat.

Chief Secretary K. Rathna Prabha told Deccan Chronicle: “Advisors ceased to exist. The ECI has not dismissed any one. It said the advisors can not function under any official capacity.”

A senior officer in the government told this newspaper that Mr Kempaiah had not only returned his vehicle, he had also vacated his room as soon as the office of the security adviser was scrapped. He will be operating from  outside the confines of the government office, the official said.

Mr Kempaiah,  a 1981 batch retired IPS officer has remained a controversial figure, with his access to the chief minister eliciting major heartburn among both Congressmen as well as opposition leaders.

The first to tweet the development - a trifle erroneously - was BJP Chief Minister hopeful B.S. Yeddyurappa who tweeted thanking the Election Commission of India  for dismissing Mr Kempaiah.

CM says it thrice
It’s Chamundeshwari for CM Siddaramaiah. Not Badami. No, not even Basavakalyan! The CM chanted the name of Chamundeswari constituency thrice, evidently irritated with many questions that were being thrown at him on whether he would go back to Varuna or migrate to a new constituency in north Karnataka-Badami or Basavakalyan. “How many times are you going to ask this question? How many times should I clarify? I am contesting from Chamundeshwari. What more do you require? What further clarification do you need?” he queried.