Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa today dropped enough hints he would avoid swearing before Lord Manjunatha in Dharmasthala, a well-known pilgrim centre in
Dakshina Kannada district, on June 27 on the advise of various mutt heads.
“I have a great respect for swamijis of the various mutts. They advised me against swear before God. I will go alone to Dharmasthala in June and take a decision in this regard the same evening,” he told a press conference, here.
He said, as decided earlier, he would visit Dharmasthala on June 26 and stay there for a night and offer pooja on June 27 and leave for Kukke Subramanya, another pilgrim centre in Dakshina Kannada district to participate in development works. But, he hinted his family members will not accompany him.
Yeddyurappa had invited former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy through an open letter in newspapers on June 18 to come to Dharmasthala and swear before Lord Manjunatha the BJP leader’s aide had tried to lure the JD(S) leader into a “compromise formula” to end their hostilities.
Kumaraswamy had also declared he would be in Dharmasthala on June 26 to face the truth test the next day.
The chief minister’s invitation to Kumaraswamy had evoked severe criticism across the state. Subsequently, heads of various Lingayat mutts and also Pejavar mutt swamiji had advised both leaders to avoid taking any truth test. They told them to solve their issues in political a way.
Reacting to the allegations made by Congress leader Siddaramaiah that he had misappropriated thousands of crores of rupees, Yeddyurappa said he would file a defamation case against him. “Siddaramaiah is trying to take the place of Kumaraswamy in making baseless allegations against me. I will clarify my stand within the next two to three days,” he said.
Criticising Congress leaders for launching a campaign in the villages against the BJP government, Yeddyurappa said they are making unnecessary comments about the government which is working in the midst of the people. “All of a sudden, our Congress party friends are beginning to remember the people. They ignored them when they were in power. Now, they have realised the importance of people and are making rounds to the villages thinking that elections are nearing,” he said.
He said the BJP would release the chargesheet against former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy within the next few days in Delhi.
