Former Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa on Monday blamed senior BJP leader and Bengaluru South MP, H. N. Ananth Kumar for all his troubles. Speaking to reporters after emerging from a 15-minute closed door meeting with Siddaganga Math seer Sri Shivakumara Swamiji, he claimed Mr Ananthkumar was himself eyeing the Chief Minister's chair and so was doing his best to get him out of the way.
“MrAnanthakumar has been trying to finish me politically, since the beginning as he has a one point agenda of becoming Chief Minister of Karnataka. He first tried to topple me by supporting the rebellion of the mining barons of the state and later tried to become CM by getting rid of me in the guise of supporting Jagadish Shettar. He also tried to show me in bad light by bringing senior BJP leader L. K. Advani to Karnataka, while I was in jail,” he charged, adding, “Atal Behari Vajpayee and L. K. Advani are like Gods in the BJP, and Ananthakumar has tried to portray me as a culprit in their eyes. He has tried to brainwash Mr Advani with the sole intention of becoming Chief Minister himself.”
Stressing that he had all respect for the courts and their verdicts, he said he was ready to be punished if he was really a culprit as claimed. “I became Chief Minister with the support of the people of the state. Let him (Ananthkumar) become CM, let him lead elections, who cares. But he has tried go about it in vamamarga,” he said, claiming further: “I brought V. Somanna to the BJP from the Congress to support Ananthakumar so he could get elected to Parliament. But he tortured Somanna too and worked against V. him in the assembly by-elections.”
The former chief minister also hit out at BJP organising general secretary, Santhosh and party state unit president, K. S. Eshwarappa for not assessing the situation accurately and putting him in the dock.