M P Renukacharya
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Former BJP minister M P Renukacharya held a meeting of Veerashaiva-Lingayat leaders on Thursday and decided to go on a tour to organise the community leaders across the state.
His tour intends to create awareness about how important it is to remain united under the leadership of former CM Yediyurappa to come to power in the state. The meeting was held at Yediyurappa's house.
Renukacharya and team also decided to organise a massive convention of the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community in Bengaluru, led by several seers next month, to drive home the point that state BJP president B Y Vijayendra is the community’s emerging leader. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Renukacharya said that he would launch his statewide tour from Nelamangala on Friday.
He said he would tour the state along with the leaders for the next one week to organise and mobilise the community.
“Some in our community are making efforts to divide the community at the caste and sub-caste level just to weaken Yediyurappa’s leadership. As a Yediyurappa and Vijayendra loyalist, I must create awareness within our community about how politics is being played out,” he said.
He also said that he would meet seers of various mutts, and they would be invited to take part in the proposed convention in the next month.
Replying to a question whether this meeting is being organised to counter the BJP Bijapur City lawmaker Basanagouda Patil Yatnal’s meeting held recently in the city, Renukacharya shot back and asserted that their meeting was planned much earlier than that of those ‘spent forces’ held it recently.
“They were never considered to be leaders of the Lingayat community. The community has accepted Yediyurappa as its leader wholeheartedly. So, we don’t want to waste our energy speaking about those spent forces,” he retorted.
In the meeting, several leaders demanded that the party high command oust Yatnal for indulging in anti-party activities despite giving several warnings.