Mangalore: Janardhan Poojary taunts Yeddyurappa on decision to return to BJP
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (BG)
Mangalore, Jan 1: Former union minister and Congress leader Janardhan Poojary on Tuesday December 31 lashed out at former chief minister and KJP chief B S Yeddyurappa for deciding to return to the BJP after having severed his ties with the party last year.
Addressing a press meet at the district Congress office here, Poojary said, "Yeddydurappa has said that he will come back to BJP. Even the BJP needs Yeddyurappa, else it will die in the state. But Yeddyurappa had once promised that he would not go back to the BJP at any cost till his last breath. What happened to that promise now?
"He used to say that the BJP had backstabbed him and his own people had cheated him, including the party high command. He and his family are corrupt and there is enough evidence to prove it, and it will be revealed in the coming days," he added.
Poojary also taunted former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Yeddyurappa’s imminent return to the party.
"Does Jagadish Shettar have any sense of shame? If Yeddyurappa is taken back into the party, what is moral message that BJP is giving to the people especially the youth? BJP had earlier said that there was no question of taking Yeddyurappa back, so what happened now?
"When Modi has been speaking against corruption why is he ready to take such a corrupt politician and his people back into the party? Where is the anti-corruption agenda of the BJP gone? Modi thinks the people of Karnataka are fools, but we are not. L K Advani was a leader who had fought against corruption and who did a lot for the development of BJP. But now he has been pushed to a corner and not even his photo is displayed in BJP programmes or in their office," he lashed out.
"In one of the major scams of the country, the 2G scam, it was claimed that there had been a loss of Rs 1,76,000 crore, but that is all false and no loss was incurred," he added.
He congratulated the Pejawar Swamiji for rejecting the palanquin setting an example to others. “He has indeed been a role model through these extreme steps and let others who are using palanquins too follow his footsteps,” said Poojary.
No ban on arecanut
On the confusion surrounding proposed ban on arecanut by the centre, he said, “There are rumours that arecanut will be banned as per Supreme Court orders and this has put farmers in a state of shock and fear. We have made it clear that there will be no ban on arecanut and the farmers need not worry about this. Poojary will not allow a ban till his last breath.”
“There are a few associations who have been carrying out protests against the ban on arecanut and thereby increasing fear among the farmers. This has indeed led to the fall in areca prices from 205 per kg to 198 per kg. Some have even decided to sell their areca yielding farms or land at cheap prices and in turn it is the farmers who are suffering,” he added.
“We have even written a letter to Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and others in this regard and have met Sonia Gandhi and discussed this issue with her. A PIL has been submitted on report supporting the ban and there will be a hearing in this regard from both the parties. Farmers need not worry as the lawyers arguing for them are also very good,” said Poojary.
“In the KPCC general body meeting, I took up this subject and urged all not to support the ban, and also to appoint a good, senior, and experienced lawyer to represent the state’s arecanut farmers. Responding to this, chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president G Parameshwar and G L Shankar have also promised to fight against the ban. The KPCC, in this meeting, has passed the resolution that there will be no ban on arecanut and it has been widely approved by all. The chief minister himself has met union health minister Gulam Nabi Azad and urged him not to impose the ban. The cabinet ministers from this region have also promised to fight against the ban. Ramanath Rai has stated that he will resign if the ban is implemented. Hence, the arecanut farmers need not worry or be afraid,” he said.
“Already the arecanut crop has been suffering from various crop diseases and this fear of ban is another aspect they are suffering from. Hence, the state governmnet must give its complete trust and support to the arecanut yielders. Please do not carry out any protests with regard to the ban that will further instill fear among the farmers,” added Poojary.
Leaders Ibrahim Kodijal, Suresh Ballal, Mohammed Masood, Kallige Tharanath Shetty, Mithun Rai, Arun Coelho, Harikrishna Bantwal, and T K Sudhir were present.