With walk to Raj Bhavan,Yeddyurappa finally resigns

Emerging out of Raj Bhavan,Yeddyurappa announced that he had stepped down from the Chief Ministership “without any hesitation” bowing to the central leadership’s directive.

“As a disciplines soldier of the party,bowing to the decision of party leadership,I have stepped down from the position of CM,” he said,adding,”I have been accused unfairly”.

Yeddyurappa said he was bowing to the directive of party seniors and stepping down as the chief minister “without any hesitation”.

“No sacrifice is above party,” said Yeddyurappa,who remained defiant and kept the party in suspense till the last minute demanding that the high command announce a successor of his choice before he put in his papers.

He said though his government worked sincerely to preserve the natural resources,accusations had been made against him,apparently referring to illegal mining on which Lokayukta Santosh Hegde had indicted him in his report,triggering a political storm.

The Governor accepted the resignation of Yeddyurappa and asked him to continue till alternative arrangements are made,a Raj Bhavan communique said.

The day’s drama unfolded with Yeddyurappa faxing his resignation letter to BJP president Nitin Gadkari,easing some anxiety of the central leadership which was on tenterhooks all the three days.

Yeddyurappa,who was instrumental in bringing the first ever BJP rule in the South,resorted to a show of strength again on Sunday when he was accompanied by a large number of MLAs and ministers when he walked from his Race Course residence to Raj Bhavan.

Tension mounted in the BJP camp for the third successive day as party emissaries Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh struggled to break the logjam as Yeddyurappa,an influential leader of the Lingayat community,stuck to his guns on the issue of his successor.

Yeddyurappa favoured Udupi-Chikmagalur MP,DV Sadananda Gowda to succeed him and conveyed his wish to the party leaders,but the stand-off persisted as speculation was rife that his bete-noire and BJP national general secretary HN Ananth Kumar’s name was also being considered.

Singh and Jaitley continued consultations with party top leaders including state unit president K S Eswarappa,Ananth Kumar and legislators to find a successor and ensure a smooth leadership change.

Earlier,an emotional Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday said he is leaving office “happily” without being hurt and saw it as an opportunity to work “freely” to strengthen the party.

His voice choking,68-year-old Yeddyurappa said as Chief Minister he felt like his hands and legs had been tied and he had to discharge his duties from Vidhan Soudha,the state secretariat,within “limitations”.

“From now onwards,I can happily and freely meet people… (those of) backward classes… scheduled castes…scheduled tribes…work for the welfare of women without any obstacles and anxiety”,he said,describing it as a “golden opportunity”.

The BJP leader was speaking at a felicitation function,organised by the Balija community,which was recently extended benefits in education under backward classes category 2A,withdrawing it from 3A,by his government.

Yeddyurappa said there is no need for anybody to feel that he had been hurt because he had to leave office and declared that he is “quitting happily and with satisfaction”.

In what appeared to be his “farewell speech”,Yeddyurappa said he would commence a tour of the state from tomorrow,visiting “villages-after-villages” and strengthen the party. Listing the achievements of his 38-month tenure as Chief Minister,he said that in fiscal management “the state is number one,while communal harmony and law and order situation is good”.

“Wish of the people is that BJP should continue to be in power for the next 15-20 years,” Yeddyurappa said,adding,he would work towards that goal,as well as to realise the aim to win 150 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in the next elections.

He said he never dreamt of becoming Chief Minister,and is grateful that from being a mere municipal coucillor in Shikaripura in Shimoga district,he rose to this position.

“In the last 40 years,I staged agitations by mobilising farmers as a ‘madman’ (driven by passion)”.

But Yeddyurappa betrayed his own statement of not being hurt when he asked,”What’s the crime I have committed? Iron ore wealth should not be looted (he made efforts to curb that). I wanted to ensure that mining should not in the stranglehold of some idiots,” he said.

After he came to power,Yeddyurappa said he has not given any (fresh) permits for mining,and adopted a policy that iron ore should only be used for value-addition within the country. He said his stand had been appreciated by the Supreme Court.

Yeddyurappa said he also wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking a ban on iron ore export,adding,mineral resources should last for generations. “Power is not permanent. What’s very important is what you do when you are in power”.

He also said he never used to go to bed before midnight and never slept beyond 5 AM.

Yeddyurappa noted that he chose not to meet the media in the last four days as he believed his achievements should do the talking,and “his statements should not become achievements”.

He said he was preparing to present Rs one lakh crore-budget next year. “What if Yeddyurappa is not going to present it? My friend Chief Minister will do so”.

Through his successor,Yeddyurappa said he would seek to realise his “wish and dream” of making Karnataka a model state and work towards that without “resting for a single day”.