Former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said he would stay away from the crucial two-day BJP national executive scheduled to commence in Mumbai on May 24 to protest against the treatment meted out to him by his party leaders in recent months.
“For the last 20 years I have not missed a single national executive. But this time I am not going because I have been let down by the party leaders,” said the former chief minister, who reportedly gave an earful to the leader in-charge of Karnataka affairs, Dharmendra Pradhan, during meetings over the last two days.
He also embarrassed central leaders by praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who too is likely to skip the national executive, and spoke of how the party’s edifice was crumbling in view of internal problems not only here but Rajasthan and Gujarat as well.
“Mr Modi is a straightforward man and a dynamic chief minister,” he said while hurling barbs at party patriarch L.K. Advani and the ageing leader’s protege and general secretary H.N. Ananth Kumar during his first interaction with media persons on Saturday at his newly opened office.
Mr Yeddyurappa’s outbursts came on a day when Mr Pradhan returned to New Delhi after eliciting the opinions of leaders and legislators on how to resolve the crisis plaguing the state unit as BSY loyalists pushed for a role for the former chief minister as Mr. Pradhan who earlier declined to meet a group consisting six ministers, all supporters of Mr Yeddyurappa, relented and held one-on-one meetings with each of them. But demonstrating his continuing ire against central leaders, Mr Yeddyurappa announced that he would not accept any position in future. Admitting that he had demanded either his reinstatement as Chief Minister or the post of state unit president, he said “I wish to clarify that if the party leadership offers any position today, I will not accept it. But I must be treated with respect by the party.”
The former chief minister set at rest speculation about future political moves, saying he would not join any political outfit including the Congress. “There is speculation that I am going to join the Congress. This is far from the truth. There is no question of joining any political party”, he said, announcing plans for a state-wide tour on May 30. “All future plans will be decided after that,” he said.