Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday criticised the Siddaramaiah government for restricting the ‘Bidai’ scheme to girls belonging to poor minority families.
Terming it Congress’ minority appeasement and vote bank politics, Yeddyurappa demanded that Siddaramaiah extend the scheme to all poor girls. The scheme provides for `50,000 cash or necessary articles such as cots, almirahs, and utensils for a wedding in families whose annual income is less than `1.5 lakh.
Yeddyurappa threatened to launch an agitation from Thursday if the scheme is not extended to all communities. He urged the government to continue distribution of food grains for above poverty line families through PDS shops.
‘No Merger With BJP’
The former chief minister ruled out the possibility of Karnataka Janata Party’s merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party and said his party would retain its separate identity. However, he also stated that the KJP would support Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s candidature for the prime minister’s post.
“Some of the State BJP leaders are intentionally trying to create confusion in people’s mind by spreading rumours that I am preparing to return to the BJP. We earnestly want to put an end to these rumors. The KJP would remain an independent entity,” he told reporters.
Reiterating his keen interest to be part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the KJP leader said he would attend Modi’s rally here on November 17, if invited.
According to BJP sources, talks on KJP’s merger with the BJP broke down after the BJP national leadership refused to accept some of Yeddyurappa’s conditions. It is said as his pre-conditions for merger Yeddyurappa had demanded the Leader of Opposition post for himself, making his confidante Shobha Karandlaje an MLC and accommodating some of his staunch loyalists like V Dhananjaya Kumar in prominent party posts in the BJP.
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