No Change in Leadership, will Complete Full Term: Yeddyurappa

Gulbarga, Nov 16 (PTI): Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today ruled out change in his leadership and asserted that he will complete his five-year term in office.

"There will be no change in my leadership. The opposition parties, which are conspiring against me, will not succeed in their plans to destabilise my government. I will continue as chief minister for the remaining two and a half years," Yeddyurappa said.

The government is thinking of providing financial assistance to 'stree shakti' groups to take up self-employment ventures, he said, addressing a gathering of women to whom he distributed sarees here.

On the controversy over denotification of land, he said a committee headed by Chief Secretary S V Ranganah has been set up to study denotification ordered in the last 10 years. He would also hold a meeting with opposition party leaders soon to discuss the issue, he said.

Yeddyurappa said he plans to lead an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the ongoing Parliament session to press for an amendment to Article 371 of the Constitution to provide for special economic powers for development of backward north Karnataka region.

Earlier JDS MLA, Aruna Patil and about 60 of her supporters, who staged a protest against the distribution of sarees, were taken into custody, police said.