How could Advani have come to Bangalore when one of his trusted lieutenants—former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa—is in jail?
When LK Advani launched his Jan Chetna Yatra from Bihar earlier this month, he said it was a campaign against corruption and a battle to bring back black money stashed abroad.
Nearly 11 days into the yatra, Advani has had to cancel the Bangalore leg of the yatra because of corruption charges on his own party leader.
How could he have come to Bangalore when one of his trusted lieutenants—former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa—is in jail? How could he have come to Bangalore when another one of Karnataka’s cabinet ministers—home minister R Ashoka—has had an FIR registered against him for getting a piece of land illegally denotified? How could he have come to Bangalore when Katta Subramanya Naidu is in jail and his bail petition is repeatedly being rejected?
It’s ironical that Karnataka and its former chief minister have put Advani in a spot—he has had to cancel a couple of press conferences due to Yeddyurappa’s arrest and has also been ridiculed by the Opposition—when it was Karnataka and its former chief minister that he backed to the hilt.
It was Advani’s and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s backing that saw Yeddyurappa through the numerous crises and revolts. Perhaps that backing is the reason that Advani doesn’t have the face to come to Bangalore today.
To be fair to Advani, he was not happy with the way MLAs of other parties were snared through Operation Kamala. He was not happy with Yeddyurappa when the latter met him in Delhi to impress him with the victories at the hustings that the BJP had achieved under him. But what did he do about it?
Earlier this week, Advani said in Nagpur that Yeddyurappa had been warned. But the fact is that everybody in the BJP—Advani included—let the Yeddyurappa cult grow. They employed the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor one time too many and this let Yeddyurappa get away with almost anything.
For now, Yeddyurappa’s arrest may have proved a minor bump in Advani’s journey. But when the time comes, these acts of commission in Karnataka and omission in Delhi may cost the BJP the chair it’s been eyeing since 2004.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}