Yatnal in no mood to relent, calls Yediyurappa 'junior'

BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Monday dubbed Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa as “junior” in the first salvo he fired after returning from New Delhi where he was reportedly asked by the BJP leadership to fall in line.

“I was only the third BJP leader from Karnataka who became a (union) minister. Going by this, all these people, including Yediyurappa, are juniors,” Yatnal said while making a speech at the protest site of the Panchamasali Lingayats who are seeking a revision in their quota.

The Bijapur City MLA once again predicted Yediyurappa’s removal as the chief minister. “Our community shouldn’t break its head. Who knows which CM will come when. Can’t you wait for another 2.5 years? It can happen in the next two months also,” he said.

Accusing the Yediyurappa administration of rampant corruption, Yatnal said: “There are many police personnel from Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Haveri and that region deployed in Vidhana Soudha. They ask me when I will become the CM. They lament that even a constable’s salary is being looted.”

Yatnal was in New Delhi the past couple of days amid speculation that he had been summoned by the BJP top brass over his repeated censure of the Yediyurappa government. Yatnal, however, denied being summoned and said he was there for some other work. Yatnal was also given a show-cause notice.

“I worked as a minister under a noble sage Atal Bihari Vajpayee. That’s enough for me. I don’t fall at the feet of others like these people do to become minister,” Yatnal said to his detractors. He also attacked BJP vice-president and Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra.

The Panchamasali Lingayats are staging a protest demanding Category 2A reservation in the state quota. “Our own people tried to derail our movement,” Yatnal said. At present, the Veerashaiva-Lingayats, including the Panchamasalis, come under Category 3B that has 5% quota. In Category 2A, they will get a share in 15% quota.