BANGALORE: The slanging match between chief minister Siddaramaiah and KJP chief BS Yeddyurappa turned uglier on Tuesday when he hit out at the Lingayat strongman with: “Even a hundred Yeddyurappas cannot force me to resign.”
He was reacting to Yeddyurappa’s attack in Shimoga on Monday where he said he’ll ensure the Congress doesn’t win more than three seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls which will make Siddaramaiah resign.
Siddaramaiah said: “This is not possible even if all opposition parties join hands ( BJP, JDS, KJP and BSR) for the parliamentary polls. Yeddyurappa and other leaders issued similar threats in the recent bypolls for Mandya and Bangalore Rural. What happened? People showed them where they belong. The Lok Sabha polls won’t be any different.”
At the KJP rally on Monday, Yeddyurappa said: “Siddaramaiah’s government has failed on many fronts. There is a huge racket in the transfers of government officials. The performance in revenue mobilization has hit an all-time low. Siddaramaiah has also failed to protect the interests of minorities, backward classes and farmers. Siddaramaiah should open his mouth, ears and eyes to bring some semblance of order in the government’s functioning.”
Siddaramaiah retorted: “Yeddyurappa had all his mouth, ears and eyes open when he was CM. So, why did he go to jail?”‘
What triggered the spat was Siddaramaiah’s recent statement in Shimoga that Yeddyurappa had looted around Rs 1,000 crore when he was at the helm of affairs and neglected Shimoga. Siddaramaiah had also accused former deputy CM KS Eshwarappa of amassing wealth.
