Bangalore, May 9: The BJP seems to be slipping back into trouble in Karnataka with a group of MLAs led by B.S. Yeddyurappa calling for an emergency party meet after the chief minister complained against them to national bosses.

Chief minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda had written to the party leadership in Delhi saying over 20 MLAs boycotted a condolence meeting for veteran V.S. Acharya last week. He termed it an “anti-party” activity and called for disciplinary action.

In a tit-for-tat reaction, the rebels today sent a letter to Gowda demanding an emergency meeting to discuss his action.

Just when things appeared to be steadying in the party jolted by a series of rebellious activities led by Yeddyurappa, the meeting in memory of the veteran who died on February 14 has rocked the boat again.

The boycott came to light only after the letter leaked yesterday. What appears to have surprised Gowda and state BJP chief K.S. Eshwarappa was that the rebels skipped a meeting for a leader who was often called Mr Clean and played a key role in bringing the party to power in the state.

The letter names ministers Shobha Karandlaje and Basavaraj Bommai among those who stayed away. It urged the party leadership not to tolerate such “acts of indiscipline”.

With polls due in Karnataka in May 2013, the BJP is already worried about the price it may have to pay for corruption cases involving several ministers and Yeddyurappa himself.

Gowda today said there was nothing “secretive” about the letter. “There is nothing surprising about me writing a letter to my party leaders. Besides, I have always loved writing letters,” he said with a smile.

But he refused comment on the ministers named in the letter.

After trying for months to unseat Gowda and get back the chair he had to vacate after being indicted in a mining report in July 2011, Yeddyurappa was forced by the RSS to pipe down in March 2012.

He has since remained quiet and allowed Gowda to do his job according to the wishes of the party’s central leadership, which is against reinstating him as long as there are corruption cases pending against him.

The latest rebellion has surprised some Yeddyurappa supporters who attended the condolence meeting. “I never thought some of us will boycott the meeting,” said a member from north Karnataka who did not want to be named.