BENGALURU: Former chief minister and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday hit out at Vijayapura City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for holding a parallel agitation against the Waqf issue. “One has to keep aside their ego and work for the party,” the veteran BJP leader said.
Yediyurappa appealed to Yatnal and other BJP leaders, including MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi and BP Harish and former MLAs Arvind Limbavali and Kumar Bangarappa, who are part of the agitation, to work unitedly to strengthen the party.
“State BJP president BY Vijayendra has appealed to Yatnal and others to stop protesting separately over the Waqf land issue and instead work with us unitedly. Despite this, because of their self-conceit, they are doing such things. It is not right on their part,” Yediyurappa said. The former CM also said that the party high command in Delhi is aware of these developments.
On the BJP’s dismal performance in the recent bypolls to three Assembly constituencies, Yediyurappa said that the loss was not a setback to state party chief and his son BY Vijayendra but a setback to the party itself. He said everyone should take the responsibility for the party’s defeat. “This has to be discussed... and we should rectify the issues,” Yediyurappa said. The Yatnal-led group includes BJP MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi, BP Harish, and former legislators Aravind Limbavali, Kumar Bangarappa, and GM Siddeshwara and others.
The leaders, who had stayed away from the protest recently held by the party on the Waqf issue, on Monday held a parallel agitation over the issue in Bidar. On Tuesday, they were in Kalaburagi district.