Mysuru, Aug 10 (IANS): Bharatiya Janata Party state president B.Y. Vijayendra told Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to focus on saving his position and demanded that the Congress party should take back the statements about former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa's political retirement.

“Stop speaking lightly about my father. Instead of asking for the retirement of Yediyurappa from public life, the Chief Minister should resign, admitting to the loot of thousands of crores,” he said.

CM Siddaramaiah had stated that Yediyurappa is embroiled in a POCSO case at the age of 82 and if he has any shame he should retire from public life.

Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the “Mysuru Chalo” padayatra, he questioned why the Chief Minister had fled from the Assembly during its session if there was no misappropriation of Rs 5,000 crores in the MUDA land scam.

Vijayendra asked why the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are resorting to threatening the opposition and demanded details about the Valmiki Corporation scam and the MUDA land scam. He questioned whether they still feared 82-year-old Yediyurappa and stated that CM Siddaramaiah had filed 15 de-notification cases against Yediyurappa based on a CAG report.

He clarified that their struggle is not against CM Siddaramaiah but against a corrupt Chief Minister, the Congress government’s corruption and nepotism. The struggle would continue and no one can crush it.

He criticized the current government for lacking the will to protect the poor and farmers. He compared it to the BJP government, which had provided Rs 5 lac during a house collapse, whereas this government had only promised Rs 1 lac but had not yet delivered.

He pointed out that no new development schemes had been announced in the last 15 months and condemned the Congress government for the severe drought and the suicides of 1,500 farmers.

Vijayendra alleged that Siddaramaiah’s socialist mask had fallen off and that the police were being used to suppress their struggle. He criticised Siddaramaiah for fleeing from debates about the Valmiki Corporation scam and the Muda scam and stated that this was not his own view but the sentiment of the people of the state.

Talking about the MUDA scam, he stated, “In 1940, Ninga, a Dalit had bought the land in auction. In 1968 he died and he had three children namely Mallaiah, Mylaraiah and Devaraju and the property came into their name. Later, the other two sons gave the land to Mylaraiah. In 1992, Devaraju, got signatures from the children of Mylaraiah promising that he would get khata done for the property and now claims that he is the absolute owner.”

“CM Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law purchases 3.16 acres of land from Devaraju. Now, CM Siddaramaiah is claiming that he has to be compensated with Rs 62 crores for his family’s 14 sites. The point here is the purchase itself is illegal. Devaraju is not the heir to the property. It is purchased from him and given as a gift to CM Siddaramaiah’s wife,” he alleged.