Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, BJP MLA.
| Photo Credit: File Photo
“There is a significant contribution made by you in bringing the Congress to power with a thumping majority. People are backing you. But why you are yet to order a probe into these scams? Let anyone who has indulged in corruption face the inquiry,” Mr. Yatnal told Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
Alleging that there was an effort from within the Congress to dethrone Mr. Siddaramaiah, he asked him to muster the courage to fight back. “I think you are keeping quiet on the scam in the Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation as your Delhi leaders may have to go to jail if a probe is ordered. But you are known as huliya (tiger). Now, be bold and demonstrate that you give importance to protecting your commitment to the welfare of Dalits,” he told the Chief Minister.
Without taking the name of BJP veteran leader B.S. Yediyurappa and his son B.Y. Vijayendra, he said, “Our leader of the Opposition R. Ashok does not show much aggression. But yesterday, when I heard his speech, I was convinced that he has now decided to come out of the clutches of the father-and-son duo and practice the politics of self respect.”
Urging all the BJP MLAs not to be scared of the father-and-son duo, he asked to them to end the “Appaji” (father) culture. “You should call only your father as appaji. Stop calling others appaji,” he said in an obvious reference to BJP leaders respecting Mr. Yediyurappa by referring to him as appaji.
“Now there will not be any compromise (between the BJP and the government). Otherwise, this protest against the scam in the ST development corporation would have been only a drama as we would either stage a walkout or night-long-dharna in the legislature to show that we are fighting very seriously. But in the night we would be eating dinner supplied by the government. And some leaders would call up the Chief Minister the next day just to ask him not to feel bad because of the protest as they were forced to take it up because of the pressure from the party high command,” said Mr. Yatnal.
