The NDA allies BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) will take out a seven-day padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru from August 3 against the alleged irregularities in site distribution by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), financial irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, and diversion of funds meant for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The padayatra will culminate with a public rally in Mysuru on August 10 in which BJP’s central leaders will also take part. Senior leaders of the alliance, including former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy, will be part of the padayatra.
The decision and modalities of padayatra came after a coordination committee meeting between leaders of two parties in which Mr. Kumaraswamy and his ministerial colleague Pralhad Joshi, among others, were present. “We discussed the two alleged scams in detail and decided on the padayatra,” State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra told presspersons here on Sunday. Incidentally, the padayatra will pass through the JD(S) strongholds in the Vokkaliga heartland of Ramanagara, Mandya, and Mysuru districts.
Mr. Yediyurappa said the padayatra would attract thousands of people and appealed to people to participate in big numbers to remove the “corrupt” government. “The protest will continue till the Chief Minister resigns. The issue has already been discussed in Parliament. The Chief Minister should resign if he has some honour,” he said.
The ruling and Opposition parties had clashed over the same issues during the just-concluded monsoon session of the State legislature where the BJP-JD(S) was denied permission to raise the alleged irregularities in MUDA, triggering a night-long dharna in the legislature by the Opposition legislators. The legislature proceedings were stormy during the discussion on the Valmiki development corporation irregularities. The Opposition had indicated that they could take out a padayatra after their attempts to discuss these issues were not allowed in full.
