Ballari Chalo Ends, But BJP Fight Will Continue Until Congress Government Is Ousted: BS Yediyurappa
Ballari/Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday declared that the BJP’s padayatra may have concluded in Ballari, but the party’s agitation would continue until what he called the “corrupt Congress government” is removed from power, describing the 10-day march from Raichur to Ballari as the beginning of a political change in Karnataka.
Addressing the concluding programme of the padayatra in Ballari, Yediyurappa said the march led by B.Y. Vijayendra had received widespread public support along the route and asserted that the BJP would not rest until it returned to power in the state.
“Our padayatra has concluded in Ballari today. But our struggle will continue until the corrupt Congress government is removed. Our steps from Raichur to Ballari will awaken this corrupt Congress government and write the preface to the next political change,” Yediyurappa said.
He said Vijayendra had led the padayatra for 10 days and claimed that people had extended support and blessings to the participants throughout the route. People welcomed the marchers by applying tilak and performing aarti, and the scale of the reception was beyond what the party had anticipated, he said.
Yediyurappa sought to portray the march as more than a party programme, calling it an expression of the political change that people wanted. He said participants had walked despite the intense heat and claimed that the padayatra had attracted attention across Karnataka and the country.
“This was not merely a padayatra conducted by us. It is the preface to the transformation that people want,” he said, according to the material shared.
The former Chief Minister said there was no question of the BJP resting until the Congress government was removed. He said the party would expose what he described as corruption under the Congress government and work towards bringing about political change in the state.
Yediyurappa also accused the Congress government of discontinuing or weakening several programmes introduced by the previous BJP government. He alleged that the state’s contribution under the Kisan Samman Nidhi had been reduced and that Bhagyalakshmi bonds were not being provided.
He further accused the Congress of taking away money meant for the poor and alleged that public funds had been looted. The remarks were political allegations made by Yediyurappa at the BJP’s padayatra concluding event.
Calling on BJP workers and supporters to sustain the campaign beyond the conclusion of the march, Yediyurappa said the party should work towards forming a BJP government in Karnataka and politically preventing the Congress from recovering.
The speech turned the Ballari conclusion into a continuation message rather than an endpoint for the agitation. Yediyurappa’s central pitch was that the Raichur-to-Ballari march should serve as the opening phase of a longer BJP campaign to unseat the Congress government and return the party to power in Karnataka.
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