SHIMOGA : “With Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and state BJP president K S Eshwarappa stating that they would look after the people and the party, respectively, I, being rendered jobless, would only attend those functions where MLAs invite me to,” said former CM B S Yeddyurappa.
Addressing the Media here on Saturday, Yeddyurappa, in what was a departure from his earlier statements, said that collective leadership in the BJP is a new experiment and many new people have joined the party. “The chief minister and Eshwarappa may be thinking on similar lines,” he, however, added.
On his role in state politics, Yeddyurappa said that senior BJP leaders were watching his movements. “They too require time, as most of them are busy with the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections,” he said.
“I turned down the invitation to join politics at the central level during former prime minister A B Vajpayee’s tenure as I was not comfortable in English and Hindi. Then what is the intention behind joining (sic) central politics?” he questioned.
He stressed the need to strengthen the BJP in the state and solicited widespread cooperation for it. “I will take part in the agitation demanding special status for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region under Article 371 of the Constitution on January 24,” he said.
He accused the Centre of not cooperating with its Karnataka counterpart in this regard. “Our leaders in the Union cabinet representing the region have not responded to the sentiments of the people,” he added.