B S Yeddyurappa praises Cong, cocks a snook at BJP top brass

Cocking a snook at the BJP top brass, sulking former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa today praised Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi's, asserting he would not hesitate to leave the party if his honour was at stake.

"Everything was all right in the party when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the president. The situation is not well now. There are problems in states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra," Yeddyurappa said.

Yeddyurappa, who has boycotted the BJP National Executive at Surajkund for the first time in his over four-decade long association with the party, said the central leadership should devote attention towards correcting the situation, "being experienced everywhere".

His critical comments against the central leadership and, going a step further, praising Congress could not have at a worse time for the BJP than when it is holding its National Executive meeting.

Yeddyurappa also hit out at some party leaders for "ill-treating" him, but did not name them.

However, he accused his party president Nitin Gadkari of being influenced by his bete noire and BJP general secretary H N Ananthkumar.

Mincing no words against Gadkari, he said: "Unfortunately you have also been listening to leaders with vested interests and made me a scapegoat.

"You have promised so many things to me. But without any reason you have not kept up your promise," Yeddyurappa, who is upset at not being made the state unit chief, said.

The Lingayat community leader reiterated he would soon announce his future political plans and praised the Congress leadership for the second time in recent months.

"We must appreciate Congress leadership right from Jawaharlal Nehru to Sonia Gandhi's tenure. They never let down their leaders on false allegations. (They) never went back on their promises," he said.

Yeddyurappa continued his tirade against Ananthkumar and sarcastically suggested to Gadkari to make the Bangalore South MP the state unit party chief and help him realise his long time ambition of becoming the chief minister.

... contd.

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