CM tries to revive 'Brand Yeddyurappa'

Looks like the recent political upheavals have taught B S Yeddyurappa a lesson or two.
A chastised Chief Minister now says he will keep off his relatives and others with selfish motives and work for the welfare of those who elected him.

Quoting a ‘vachana’ of Basavanna at a function organised by the Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt on Thursday, he said the 12th century reformer’s verse asks “people in power to listen to the public and avoid relatives for as long as they remain in power.”

“People around have selfish motives and I have experienced this in my two-and-a-half year tenure as Chief Minister and 20 months as Deputy Chief Minister,” he said.

This was Yeddyurappa’s first public meeting after the party leadership gave him clean chit and allowed him to continue as the Chief Minister of the State.

He quoted the writings of Basavanna and Kuvempu and even referred to US President Barack Obama’s recent statement: “India is not a developing country, but a developed country.”

He said he would make efforts to take the State on the path of progress and “education for all” would be his priority.

Asks son, daughter to move out

In a related development, Yeddyurappa has asked his son B Y Vijayendra and daughter Umadevi to move out of his official residence on Race Course Road. This is in response to the party high command’s directive to keep his family members off administration.

Vijayendra, Umadevi and son-in-law Sohan Kumar were residing at the Chief Minister’s official residence. Raghavendra, his elder son and Lok Sabha member, was a frequent visitor. Raghavendra, Vijayendra and Sohan Kumar had floated a real estate firm and the Opposition had alleged they got acres of BDA land denotified in their favour.

He was willing to quit

At the height of the political crisis gripping the State earlier this week, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had offered to step down if the BJP central leadership asked him to do so.

In a letter to BJP National President Nitin Gadkari on November 23, Yeddyurappa had stated, “I cannot accept false charges (against me and my family members) and the baseless allegations that I have ever defied the party. Let me make it clear, I am and will always remain committed to the party. If the party asks me to continue or quit I will always follow the party’s decision.”

In the letter, belatedly released to the press on Thursday, the CM urges Gadkari to intervene and clear the environment of uncertainty in Karnataka. “Faced with false allegations, I have already appointed a commission of inquiry headed by a retired judge of the High Court to inquire into all land allotments since 1995. I request that you as the party president should also examine the truth or otherwise of these allegation”, the CM stated in the letter.