At Yeddyurappa-bashing meeting, leaders come to blows

The dissenting voices against BJP state leader BS Yeddyurappa that were – hushed up – all these while were heard loud and clear at a meeting here on Thursday.

Leaders came to blows when the meeting turned out to be Yeddyurappa-bashing. The pro-Yeddyurappa faction was literally thrown out of the meeting where Yeddyurappa’s critic and former deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa was present.

The meeting was projected as a platform to air the party workers’ grievances which Eshwarappa had accused Yeddyurappa of ignoring. However, it turned out be meeting against Yeddyurappa completely.

Eshwarappa dared the former chief minister and state BJP president Yeddyurappa to initiate action against him for holding the meeting. “This was no Sangolli Rayanna Brigade meeting or the meeting of any other group. But it was a meeting of loyal party workers who have gathered here to express their grievances to help strengthen the party.

"Yeddyurappa needs to understand that nobody is a leader in the party but all are equal workers. "He cannot issue arbitrary orders without consulting anyone. This is going to damage the party's image in the future," Eshwarappa warned.

Throughout his speech, Eshwarappa criticised Yeddyurappa’s dictatorial attitude and wondered why he stopped working with party’s old guard and the loyalists.

"Yeddyurappa has no moral right to call me separatist. It was he who went out of the party and formed Karnataka Janata Paksha," said Eshwarappa. This left the BJP in poor form and helped Congress win the previous election. He must look into the mirror before accusing anyone of associating with any group.

“We are loyal party workers and will never go out of the party. We are here to work for BJP and will do so until we die,” Eshwarappa said.

In fact, this was not the first time that indifference between party’s senior leaders came out in the open. Eshwarappa’s association with the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade and their war of words thereafter had forced BJP national president Amit Shah to summon them to New Delhi. But there was no clarity later. For, while Eshwarappa brazenly said that Amit Shah had no problem with him attending meetings of Sangolli Rayanna Brigade, Yeddyurappa had said that Eshwarappa has promised not to hold any meetings of the brigade. These apparent contradictory statements and Yeddyurappa’s total ignorance towards loyal party workers had been simmering in the party for long which came out in the open today.  

Also read: Amit Shah gave a logical end to Eshwarappa's Brigade activities

• dissent voices in bjp
• eshwarappa and yeddyurappa