Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB/SP)

Udupi, Nov 13: Addressing a press conference at Fortune Inn Valley View hotel at Manipal on Monday November 13, former chief minister of Karnataka and state BJP president, B S Yeddyurappa, clarified that he has not undertaken Parivartana Yatra to mop up support for himself and project himself as the next chief minister, but to spread awareness about the actual facts and to end corruption.

Yeddyurappa said that assembly constituencies are vying with each other in coming out and supporting him wholeheartedly. Speaking about deaths of RSS and BJP activists in Kerala, he pointed out that Anand, an RSS worker, had been murdered in Kerala recently and the murderers were allowed to escape. He said these things are happening with support of CPM.

"Instead of taking measure to stop these murders, the government has been allowing these things to happen. CPM has failed to take any action against culprits. Therefore, we have no confidence in Kerala government arresting the guilty, as that government is allowing BJP and RSS activists to be killed with impunity," he said.

He pointed out that hundreds of party workers have been killed even in Karnataka and that terrorist activities are on the rise. "There is uneasy quiet in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada district, and underlying disturbances can be experienced. Murders of people like Prashanth Poojary, Sharat Madivala and Sukhananda Shetty have given rise to this kind of situation. The chief minister is getting cosy with certain organizations which sow the seeds of disturbances like Popular Front of India, SDPI etc and hence he fails to take any action when they are involved in disturbances," he analyzed.

On changes the government's initiative to bring ammendments to the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act against which the doctors have been undertaking stir, Yeddyurappa condemned the government. He noted that private doctors have planned protest demonstration at Belagavi against the government's plan to exercise control over them. "We want Justice Vikramjit Sen report recommendations to be implemented. There are 42,000 private hospitals lin Karnataka. The proposed bill which is nightmarish, should be dropped immediately," he demanded.

Yeddyurappa,speaking about rumours of direct recruitment to ISIS taking place through Muslim organizations, sought immediate action by the government. He said that office of National Investigation Agency (NIA) should be opened in Mangaluru immediately and asked the state government to provide necessary infrastructure for the same. Speaking about Anti Corruption Bureau, he wanted to know how many cases have been registered with it so far and how many among them are against the relatives of the chief ministers. He also wanted to know why first information reports are not being registered against them. He pointed out thatin almost all the cases, ACB is in the habit of giving clean chit. "If this is the way it functions, there is no use of ACB for u. Instead, give all the cases to Central Bureau of Investigations, or get these cases investigated by sitting judges of the high court," he demanded.

He said that the chief minister is talking of bringing revolution among backward classes. "The government has supplied substandard uniforms to children. Rs 76 crore has been spent on these uniforms, Stitching charges are yet to be paid. There have been lot of complaints in Chamarajanagar district.This is the way revolution is being brought," he commented.

About illegal sand mining lobby, Yeddyurappa said that because of the inefficiency of the state government, poor people are not even able to build a toilet for themselves on account of shortage of sand. He accused Congress party of being hand in glove with sand mafia and that Congress had a hand in the incidents which unfolded after the deputy commissioner of the district raided sand mining units near Kundapur.

Yeddyurappa demanded the state government to release white paper on the current financial condition of the government. "Even though central government provides funds, the state government is indulging in heavy borrowing. It should explain about this situation," he stated. He asked the government to provide figures of budget allocation during the last four years for irrigation, social welfare, education, and SC/ST/OBC welfare and how much has been spent. He said there is yawning gap between these two figures and wanted the Tughlaq Darbar in the state to end. He said that when Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, the UPA goverment has left an empty exchequer and predicted that the same situation will prevail in the state when BJP rises to power. He fondly hoped that the situation will not be that bad.

About Kundapur MLA, Halady Srinivas Shetty, Yeddyrappa said that Halady has always been with the BJP and that it might take about a month for him to join BJP. "If someone opposes his re-induction into the party, they will face action. We have been maintaining contact with him even after he left us, and urged him to join the party. We like him because he is sincere, honest, and strong. Because of certain confusing decisions taken by the party, Shetty had left us in the past, but he has been with us menally," he narrated.

On repeated comments by chief minister about himself facing a number of cases, Yeddyurappa pointed out that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are out on bail. He noted that minister, K J George, has been continuing in office even after first information report was filed against him. "Siddaramaiah just speaks about cases against me to earn some applause. About Siddaramaiah's remarks that he was behaving oddly, Yeddyurappa said that he has undertaken a 75-day Yatra.He challenged the chief minister to prove himself by undertaking this kind of gruelling tour. He said he is sure that within a week, Sidaramaiah would be seen taking too much rest. "I am backed by popular support as well as from the divine. I work like a young man. The chief minster is jealous of me. I cover three assembly constituencies each day and cover all 224 constituencies in 75 days," he explained.

Yeddyurappa predicted that minister, K J George, will not be able to get anticipatory bil, and that he will get non-bailable warrant. He pledged not to allow proceedings of the legislature session to go on till George resigns.

When questioned about MLA, Pramod Madhwaraj's intentions of joining BJP, Yeddyurappa termed it as false. "Such things are not revealed in advance in the open. This is a rumour that is not reliable at all. I do not want to comment more on that," he said.

Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP, Shobha Karandlaje Shobha Karandlaje, District BJP president, Mattaru Ratnakar Hegde, zilla panchayat president, Dinakar Babu, state BJP secretary, Udayakumar Shetty, general secretary of the party, Yashpal Suvarna, district Yuva Morcha president, Shreesha Nayak, state secretary, Shyamala Kunder, zilla panchayat member, Geetanjali Suvarna, and former MLA, Raghupati Bhat, were among those who were present.