Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa (BSY), under whose leadership the BJP came to power for the first time in southern India, bade a tearful goodbye to his party on Friday, citing “torture” by some national and state leaders of the saffron outfit.
Yeddyurappa submitted his
resignation as MLA in Bangalore and also as a primary member of the BJP, which he served for 40 years before embracing his new regional party, the Karnataka Janatha Party (KJP). BSY will take over as KJP chief on December 9.
Before resigning, he went to the Radha Krishna temple in Bangalore and then attended a huge gathering, turning emotional while giving his “goodbye” speech.
He said, “With great pain in my heart I am leaving the BJP ... The party had given me many opportunities...from municipal councillor to chief minister.”
Yeddyurappa attacked BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, saying he made several promises, none of which were honoured by him or “your party”.
“Many ministers and BJP MLAs are with me, but I have requested them not to come out yet. I only made Jagadish Shettar chief minister and I don’t want his government to collapse at this juncture,” he said.