Yeddyurappa sheds tears over his plight

In a rare spectacle in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party's first chief minister in south India did not try to conceal his helplessness as he told a TV channel that under pressure from the dissidents, he had let down people who trusted him, reports Shekhar Iyer.

An emotional Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa apologised to his loyalists for compromising with the dissidents.

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“For my selfish ends, I was forced to ditch those who were my trusted people — be it Shobha (Karandlaje) or (V.P.) Baligar,” he said, with tears in his eyes, on Kannada channel Suvarna on Saturday.

The CM agreed to sack Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje while V.P. Baligar, the CM’s principal secretary, was transferred on Friday. Both are considered to be very close to Yeddyurappa.

Rebel leader and tourism minister Janardhana Reddy made light of the chief minister’s public display of emotion. “Why is he crying? You tell me,” he asked journalists.