Yeddyurappa gives ultimatum to BJP leaders

Sulking former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday virtually set a deadline for the BJP leadership to give him a suitable position, saying he will wait till January 15 for the party to take a decision.

Yeddyurappa, who has been lobbying for a suitable position ever since he was removed from the post of chief minister in August last year on corruption charges, exuded confidence that the BJP high command would take a decision at an “appropriate time” on his demand for which he would wait till January 15.

He told reporters here that if need be he would visit Delhi during the second week of this month. “Let me see what will happen. I will wait till January 15,” he said.

Yeddyruppa’s remark comes amid reports that he might float his own party if the BJP central leadership does not meet his demand by then.

The former chief minister ruled out the prospect of a mid-term poll in the state and asserted that the BJP government would complete its full term, which lasts till 2013. Earlier, a delegation of BJP MLAs from the city, under the leadership of Home Minister R Ashoka, met Yeddyurappa and pleaded with him not to take any “hasty decision” on his future political course.

Ashoka said, they appealed to Yeddyurappa not to leave the party, apparently referring to reports that he might float his own party if the BJP central leadership did not respond to his demand for rehabilitation.

Yeddyurappa was made to quit by the central leadership after he was indicted in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining and replaced by D V Sadananda Gowda who was considered his loyalist but is now trying to come out of his shadow.

Gowda has been maintaining that he would continue as Chief Minister till the next assembly elections. Yedyurappa’s loyalists have been insisting that either the party re-instate him as chief minister or make him the state party chief.

Last week, Yeddyurappa and state BJP chief K S Eshwarappa were locked in a war of words over the leadership issue. In an angry outburst, Yeddyurappa has accused Eshwarappa of trying to oust him from the party and even being responsible for sending him to jail.

Eshwarappa had said no position could be given to Yeddyurappa till he came clean in the corruption cases.