JOIN USYediyurappa looks forward to 2021 by ruling out leadership change
Stepping into the New Year, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Thursday that he will continue in the top post for the next two years and complete the term, ruling out any change in leadership.
At the customary New Year’s Eve news conference, Yediyurappa said, "In the last one and a half years, I have concentrated only on development. The BJP national leadership has specified that there will be no change of leadership. I am not concerned about anything other than work," he said to a question on speculation of a change in leadership.
In a slight dig at the media, Yediyurappa said: "There is no confusion among either our ministers or our legislators. There is no confusion even among the people of Karnataka. The confusion exists only among the media. If you cooperate, I believe everything will be fine."
Rarely has Yediyurappa responded to murmurs of leadership change, and this time, he chose to speak out ahead of the New Year.
The BJP is making inroads across the country and in Karnataka, too, Yediyurappa said.
"According to information available, out of 5,728-gram panchayats, BJP-backed candidates have won in around 3,800. The BJP won the recent Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Sira bypolls and 12 seats in the December 2019 bypolls. These results show that we have made inroads in the strongholds of the Opposition parties," he said.
Speaking on the year 2020 that has gone by, Yediyurappa said Karnataka suffered financial setbacks that are likely to continue into the next fiscal as well. The past year was a "trial by fire" for the government with the onslaught of the pandemic and floods, he said. "Albeit the crisis, we have done our best to fulfil all the promises of the state Budget 2020-21," he said.
The government's Bengaluru Mission 2022 is a big-ticket project, he said, promising to "change the face of the city" soon. "Be it Jog development or Kemmanugundi, many tourism projects have also been charted out to rejig the economy, he added.
Karnataka attracted 95 FDI proposals despite the pandemic, all amounting to Rs 1.54 lakh crore, Yediyurappa said. The Prime Minister's development vision has also included in legislation such as the APMC Amendment Bill, which will go a long way in helping the farmers double their income, he said. "The Opposition leaders are misleading the farmers on the issue," he said.