Just after the bypolls, lingayat strongman and BJP national vice-president BS Yeddyurappa in his first Press conference on Tuesday in Bangalore after he assumed charge at national level hit out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his apathy towards providing help to farmers who were affected by excessive rains in north Karnataka.
He said, “When people are suffering because of excessive rain in the State, when crops have been damaged, houses have been damaged, and lives have been affected, neither Ministers nor officials are reaching out to people in affected areas and helping them.”
“The State Government has completely failed in reaching out and providing help to farmers and agricultural labourers affected by excessive rain,” he added. Yeddyurappa’s politically significant Press conference proved a point that he filled the void of leadership lacuna in the State BJP. Yeddyurappa felt that 100 days of the Narendra Modi Government has done tremendous progress.
On the completion of 100 days of the Modi Government, Yeddyurappa said, “There has been exceptional progress.” He said, “We can see clear change in our economic policies that are growth and development oriented... good times have begun, whatever has been initiated in these hundred days keeping progress in mind has been exceptional.”
He also said the NDA Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inherited Rs 24 lakh crore debt from the UPA. Yeddyurappa said that the party’s State leadership has decided to travel to affected areas and he himself would go to Raichur, Yadgir, Gulbarga and Bijapur districts next week to acquaint himself with the ground situation and will submit a report to the State Government.
Yeddyurappa also said the BJP had no intention of using Governor’s office against the State Government, a vendetta politics he faced when he was the Chief Minister of the State. Yeddyurappa had a running battle with HR Bharadwaj when he was the Governor.