Yeddyurappa hits out at ex-PM

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa on Friday alleged that former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda was levelling accusations against him instead of asking his son and chief minister H D Kumaraswamy to 'rectify' his statements on North Karnataka.

Holding the chief minister responsible for resurfacing of the demand for statehood for north Karnataka, Yeddyurappa posed some questions to the JD(S) supremo.

"I want to ask former prime minister H D Deve Gowda- who questioned about the contribution of Lingayat chief ministers for north Karnataka. Who accused people of voting on the basis of caste...wasn't it Kumaraswamy? Who raised questions about contribution of north Karnataka for the state's revenue...wasn't it Kumaraswamy?" Yeddyurappa asked.

Yeddyurappa told reporters here Gowda should respond to all these questions. Yeddyurappa's comments come a day after the former prime minister accused him of trying to create unrest through "malicious propaganda."

In an interview to PTI, he had alleged that the BJP state president was "provoking" people of north Karnataka, as his "anger has not cooled down" after failing to form the government despite winning substantial seats.

Yeddyurappa said Kumaraswamy's "irresponsible" comments were the main reason for the confusion in north Karnataka and demanded that Gowda ask his son to 'rectify' his statements.

"I want to ask Deve Gowda how fair is it to accuse us, when as a responsible opposition we have done our duty by convincing seers and protesters (against separate statehood demand), which actually chief minister had to do," he added.

A bandh call given by several outfits in 13 districts of north Karnataka on Thursday, demanding statehood for the region, had failed to elicit any response.

The bandh was called by the outfits which alleged discrimination by successive governments towards the region and in the budget presented by Kumaraswamy on July 5, and inadequate representation in the present cabinet.