“I may be 82, but I still have the strength to tour across the State and fight to ensure your exit as the Chief Minister,” said veteran BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa on Saturday while attacking Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his recent remarks against him.
In response, Mr. Yediyurappa, at the Mysuru Chalo padayatra valedictory programme here, said he would “not retire from politics as long as he lives” and added that he would ensure Mr. Siddaramaiah retires from politics before him.
Mr. Yediyurappa further challenged Mr. Siddaramaiah to dissolve the Assembly and seek a fresh mandate. “If elections happen now, the BJP and JD(S) alliance will come to power by winning about 130-140 seats. The people are fed up with the misrule of the Congress government with corruption at the highest levels and development works coming to a grinding halt,” said the veteran leader.
Lashing out at Mr. Siddaramaiah as well as Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, he said no development works would happen until these two leaders stepped down from the office. The people of the State would show the door to the Congress government, he said.
On the alleged scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Mr. Yediyurappa said there were no examples of Chief Ministers or past Chief Ministers in the country getting so many sites allotted in their wives’ or family members’ names. “Show me one example, at least. On top of it, Mr. Siddaramaiah demands ₹62 crore in return for the sites. Whose money is it Mr. Siddaramaiah to give it to you,” the former Chief Minister questioned.
