Yeddyurappa slams Gadkari, praises Congress leadership

In a major embarrassment to the BJP top brass, sulking former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on Friday heaped praises on the Congress leadership while ridiculing party national president Nitin Gadkari for not fulfilling promises made to partymen.

Addressing a press conference in Bangalore, Yeddyurappa trained his guns on Gadkari, once a staunch supporter of the former chief minister, claiming that the decisions being taken by the party national president were denting the image and prospects of the BJP.
Yeddyurappa also sought to compare leadership of Gadkari with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi stating the latter kept her word she made to her party leaders.

“We must appreciate Congress leadership right from Jawaharlal Nehru to Sonia Gandhi’s tenure. They never let down their leaders on false allegations. They never went back on their promises. That is the greatness of the Congress leadership,” he said. This is the second time Yeddyurappa praised the Congress in public.

Yeddyurappa, who boycotted the BJP National Executive and Council meeting for the first time in his over four-decade- long association with the party, said the central leadership should devote attention to correcting the situation.

Yeddyurappa said Gadkari had promised to make him party State president within 24 hours after he stepped down as chief minister in 2011.

Should introspect

“Gadkari should introspect why he could not keep his word. It is not the only instance. The actions of Gadkari are creating confusion and factionalism in the party across the country. There are problems in states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra,” Yeddyurappa charged.

While Yeddyurappa has been attacking party leaders like H N Ananth Kumar and K S Eshwarappa, this is the first time that he openly has targeted the party national president. Close associates of Yeddyurappa termed Friday’s press conference a “quarter final,” indicating the former chief minister was just “two more press meets away” from announcing his decision to quit the BJP.

Yeddyurappa accused his bete noire Ananth Kumar of “poisoning the minds” of senior party leaders L K Advani and Gadkari.  He sarcastically urged the party central leadership to appoint Ananth Kumar as BJP State president.

“Ananth Kumar has been nurturing the ambition of becoming the chief minister or the party president. Make use of the golden opportunity and make him the president. The party is bound to prosper under him,” Yeddyurappa said.

The former chief minister said he would tour the districts of Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, Davangere and Uttara Kannada from October 5 to know the pulse of people and their support to his leadership.

He reiterated that he would not hesitate to quit the BJP if his personal honour was at stake. He dismissed reports that he was trying to get the party president post and asked his loyalists to call off their plan to visit New Delhi to meet the central party leaders.
“Even if the central leadership offers me the post, I will not accept it,” he said.