BSY hits out at George, Venugopal

BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said that the BJP legislators will not allow upcoming legislature session in Belagavi to function smoothly, till Bengaluru Development Minister K J George steps down.

Urging the chief minister to demand resignation from George, Yeddyurappa said that George has no morality to continue as the CBI has filed an FIR against him in connection with the suicide of DySP MK Ganapathy.

Addressing the party Parivarthana Yatra here at Nehru Maidan on Saturday, he urged AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal, who is indicted in a solar scam in Kerala, to step down from his MP seat.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on his comment saying Narendra Modi is scared of him, Yeddyurappa said that the chief minister is a 'baccha' (child) against him (Modi). "It is not PM Modi who is scared of him, but the AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi as the central government is set to bring into effect the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, which will erode all the illegal assets of the Rahul Gandhi family," he criticised.

Giving details about the achievements of the NDA-led government, he said that the Modi government has brought back the fiscal health to the pink of robust health.

Yeddyurappa quoted the US President Donald Trump's statement, who has lauded the economic reforms implemented by Narendra Modi.

He also quoted an NIA report which has stated that PFI is a threat to national security and urged the state government to ban the organisations, like PFI and SDPI.

"The Navakarnataka Parivarthana Yatra's objective is not to make me as the Chief Minister but to ensure peace and order in the state, by making the state Congress-free," he said and predicted that the BJP will win more than 150 seats in the assembly elections.

Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, MPs Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shobha Karandlaje and B Sriramulu, MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary, Opposition leader K S Ishwarappa and former MLA Kumar Bangarappa also spoke.

Harikrishna joins BJP

Social activist, Billava Community leader and rebel leader from Congress Harikrishna Bantwal officially joined BJP on the occasion. He was welcomed into the party by BJP State President B S Yeddyurappa, who handed over party flag and presented a shawl, a rose and a garland to him.

Bantwal said that he left Congress because it lacks patriotism. They cannot tolerate pro-Indian slogans, but like pro-Pakistan slogans, he criticised.

He said Modi has come from the land of Gandhi who drove away the British. Now, Modi will drive away the Congress. Modi has ascended the Delhi throne to preserve Indian culture and to make India a corruption-free nation, he said and predicted that Tulunadu will become a gateway for victory for BJP in the upcoming assembly elections.

"I am not new to the BJP. Earlier, I was with the other 'BJP' (B Janardhana Poojary). Now, I have come to Bharatiya Janata Party," he said.

Others, such as Rajasthani Marwadi Samaj leaders Ashok Dhariwal, along with his supporters, too, joined BJP.