Oppn to Prez rule may become a national battle: Yeddyurappa

A BJP delegation would meet President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram today, opposing imposition of the Central rule in the state.

"Today and tomorrow, we will be in Delhi", he told reporters here before leaving for the national capital.

Yeddyurappa said he would be approaching Chief Ministers of opposition-ruled states such as Buddhadeb Bhattachajee (West Bengal) and M Karunanidhi (Tamil Nadu) seeking their support in the opposition to the President's rule in Karnataka.

"This (opposition to President's Rule) may become a national battle", he said.

Yeddyurappa said the Governor's decision to recommend President's rule was "really unfortunate".

Accusing Bhardwaj of misusing his Constitutional powers, destabilising the Government and helping opposition members, the Chief Minister said he "severely condemns the partisan behaviour of the Governor".

The Chief Minister said it is the first time in the history of the country that a Governor told a Speaker that his "decision is final" (a day before the trust vote), terming it as an "unpardonable crime".

Yeddyurappa said he was confident that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Central Ministers hailing from the state would collectively take a decision that "illegally toppling an elected government is not correct".