By far the toughest 24 days of B.S. Yeddyurappa's political career so far ended at 6.35 p.m. on Tuesday as the former Karnataka Chief Minster walked out of the Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara here as a free man with a few hundreds of his die-hard supporters.
Mr. Yeddyurappa and the former Minister, S.N. Krishanaiah Setty, who were remanded in judicial custody by the Special Lokayukta Court in connection with two multi-crore land scam cases on October 15, were granted bail by the Karnataka High Court earlier in the day.
Nearly 500 of his supporters, including Excise Minister M.P Renukacharya and MLAs Nandish Reddy and M. Krishnappa, managed to gain entry into the jail compound and escorted him out flashing victory signs.
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As the massive prison gates opened to let out the BJP strongman, around 2,000 supporters who had been waiting restlessly since noon, let out a throaty roar that drowned the sound of sirens from the waiting cavalcade. They showered him with petals and flung heavy garlands at him that were caught by the tense policemen guarding him.
The crowd chanted the names of development projects such as the ‘108' ambulance service, Sandhya Suraksha and Bhagyalakshmi. “When Yeddyurappa thunders, Vidhana Souda shudders,” the crowd sang in unison.
As he was being led away to the waiting car, Mr. Yeddyurappa suddenly changed course, broke through the security cordon and approached the barricades behind which the media was crouched.
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With a look of determination, he folded his hands and stared at the cameras for a few moments. But he walked away by the time the television crews got their microphones out.
Temple renovation
Mr. Yeddyurappa drove straight to the Someshwara temple in Ulsoor. He had commenced the work of renovation of this temple, including rejuvenating the temple kalyani (pond), in the belief that the temple, with proper Vastu, could ensure that he completed his tenure in office. From the temple, Mr. Yeddyurappa was taken to his residence on RaceCourse Road.