Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is too old and he should resign and pave the way for a new chief minister from the Lingayat community, said BJP MLC H. Vishwanath in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Vishwanath, one of the 17 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs who jumped ship to the BJP in 2019, was speaking to reporters after his meeting with BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh, who is on a three-day visit to Bengaluru for a troubleshooting exercise amid growing dissidence against Yediyurappa.
"Yediyurappa no longer has the energy or the spirit to lead his team. He should step down and pave the way for a new CM, may be someone from the Lingayat community itself. There are many alternatives from the Panchamasali Lingayats. Yediyurappa has himself said that he is prepared to quit if the party high command wants him to," said Vishwanath.
Making a serious allegation against the chief minister's son, B.Y. Vijayendra, Vishwanath said, "There is rampant corruption in the government. Yediyurappa is a good man. But his son Vijayendra has his hands into many things. In the irrigation department, he is floating tenders worth Rs 16,000 crore without the approval from the finance department. The Karnataka BJP has forgotten [PM Narendra] Modi and none of the flagship programmes are being implemented by Yediyurappa. Let him guide the party. In the interest of the party and the state, he should quit."
The former MLA from Hunsur also advised the Lingayat mutt pontiffs rallying behind Yediyurappa to be fair to other leaders from the community too. The pontiffs had sent a strong message to the BJP high command against unseating Yediyurappa and warned that the BJP will be "destroyed" if a mass leader from the community is targeted in any way. Vishwanath asked the Lingayat pontiffs to not go against Basava Tattva.
"The seers should not speak only in favour of BSY as people belonging to all castes have voted for BJP In fact, the state has seen eight Lingayat CMs till date. The pontiffs may demand for another Lingayat chief minister, perhaps from Panchamasali sect. Murugesh Nirani, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal or Aravind Bellad can be an alternative to BSY," suggested Vishwanath.
Irked by Vishwanath's statement, BSY loyalists alleged Vishwanath had "lost his mind" due to old age.
"Vishwanath is a party-hopper. He has a tendency to badmouth his party and chief ministers. In the past, when he was in Congress, he spoke against S.M. Krishna and then against Siddaramaiah. He spoke ill of Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy when he quit JD(S) to join the BJP. He is now speaking against Yediyurappa as he is upset over not being made a minister. He had lost the people's mandate (Hunsur bypolls). But Yediyurappa still made him an MLC. But he could not be given a cabinet berth due to the court order (as he is a nominated member). Vishwanath says CM is old. How old is Vishwanath?" charged Honnali MLA M.P. Renukacharya.
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Yelahanka MLA S. R. Vishwanath defended Yediyurappa, saying the chief minister had a sharp brain despite his age and had immense energy and enthusiasm to discharge his duty as a CM. "Yediyurappa works long hours from 7am to 10pm and presides over crucial meetings, tours the state, which is unparalleled. Vishwanath needs to get his head examined. He should know that he was supposed to only express his opinion before Mr Arun Singh and not before the media," he added.
