JOIN US'Please excuse me': Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa goes with emotional speech
It was a tearful exit for B S Yediyurappa who chose to announce his decision to hang up his boots at a public event in Vidhana Soudha to mark the BJP government completing two years in office.
“Please excuse me, I have decided that after lunch I will go to Raj Bhavan and submit my resignation to the CM’s post,” Yediyurappa said, tearing up.
“It’s not with pain, but happiness. A 75-year-old Yediyurappa was allowed to become CM for two years, for which I have no words to thank PM Modi, Shah and Nadda. I am indebted to them.”
Yediyurappa recalled the early days of his political career and the efforts that went into building the BJP as a formidable outfit.
“All of you know that back then, there wasn’t anybody from our party in the Legislative Assembly. It was just the two of us who had won. Vasanth Bangera, who won along with me from our party, left and I was alone in my fight inside the Assembly,” he said. “I’ve never looked back. I never worried that I was alone. I’m confident, satisfied and content that I worked in a manner that earned the appreciation of people,” he said.
An emotional Yediyurappa remembered an invitation by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to become a union minister. “I told him that I must build the party in Karnataka, that at no cost will I come to Delhi and that he should let me build the party here,” he said.
His speech lasted a little over 22 minutes. “At one time, we used bicycles to move about in the Shivamogga district. We didn’t even have a car,” he said. “Whenever Vajpayee, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi came to the state, not even 200-400 people would gather. Still, I travelled across the state. Due to God’s grace, we went from two MLAs to four. If the BJP is in power today in Karnataka, it’s because of the people of Shikaripura who elected me seven times,” he said.
He blamed “our own mistakes” for the BJP’s inability to get a clear majority. “We have not been able to win 115-120 seats, which we are capable of. I am confident that in the coming days we will together travel the state and make the party win 125-130 seats. This is my resolve,” he said.
His speech ended with: “I need your cooperation. Let’s work together.”