A combative Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Saturday ruled out his resignation, maintaining that he has not committed anything wrong, even as he said the BJP will expose in Lok Sabha "scams" involving opposition JD-S supremo H D Devegowda and his party.
Returning from Delhi, where BJP's Core Committee last night discussed allegations of land scams against him and the options before it, he insisted that there is no question of change in leadership in the remaining two-and-half-years of the state government's term.
Talking to the media in the northern Karnataka town of Hubli, Mr Yeddyurappa said, "Why should I (resign)? There is no offence from my side. I have not committed any mistake."
The chief minister said a retired Supreme Court judge would conduct the probe into denotification of land since 1994 and he would be asked to submit his report within six months.
He said the party fought elections in Karnataka under his leadership and he would complete his term. If the party wants to fight the next elections under someone else's leadership, "I am going to support (that person) fully".
Mr Yeddyurappa said he was ready to quit politics if the judicial inquiry finds he has committed anything wrong. The chief minister said he would provide to BJP MPs all information on allegations against him, as well as those pertaining to the alleged "scams" of Devegowda and his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
"There should be discussion in detail in Parliament. It should not be like shouting and running away," he said as he accused the opposition Congress and JD-S of targeting him to cover up their "scams".
On opposition demand that he quit till the inquiry is completed, Mr Yeddyurappa asked: "How many chief ministers facing allegations in the country have resigned" and asserted that charges against him are "baseless" and have been levelled to create confusion ahead of taluk and zilla panchayat elections.
The chief minister claimed Devegowda told the BJP MPs that he (the former Prime Minister) would "cooperate" and not "create problems" in the next two and a half years if Yeddyurappa is removed and termed it as "shameful behaviour".
"Our party MPs will pay no heed to him (Devegowda). BJP central leadership has confidence in me", he said. "I want to tell Devegowda that since Independence, no family has committed such an amount of betrayal and cheating as his (family). He meets (Congress party president) Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister stealthily to cover up his scams," he said and accused JD-S of entering into alliance "directly and indirectly".
The chief minister vowed to "finish" JDS. "National party BJP and national party Congress should remain in Karnataka. JD-S should be destroyed without any trace. JD-S should be uprooted. That's my aim. That's my resolve".
"Even if 10 Devegowdas come, he can't destablise Yeddyurappa", he said, adding the "piece works" awarded during Devegowda's tenure as chief minister would also come under the purview of the judicial inquiry.
"Henceforth, my fight will not be against Congress; it will be against father-son (Devegowda and Kumaraswamy) who have ruined and destroyed the state," Mr Yeddyurappa said.