Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah slams Basavaraj Bommai as 'follower of 'predecessor'

Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, Siddaramaiah on Thursday claimed that CM Bommai will remain 'obligated' to his predecessor, BS Yediyurappa, and work in his favour for getting him the job. He also teased the newly-appointed Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai being a 'follower of his predecessor'. 

The senior Congress leader said that BS Yediyurappa was replaced by the Bharatiya Janata Party for corruption and bad administration. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi discharged BS Yediyurappa from his position because they knew that the BJP will lose badly in the next Karnataka election. That is the reason why they toppled him, but that doesn't work. They will lose for sure in the next election," said Siddaramaiah.

Slamming the present Karnataka Chief, the former Karnataka CM, Siddaramaiah said that Basavaraj Bommai was appointed as the Chief Minister following demands by BS Yediyurappa. "He (Bommai) will work in favour of Yediyurappa as he was the reason behind Bommai's CM post," added the Congress leader. The leader added that the Yediyurappa-led government never concentrated on administration after gaining power in 2019. "They are only involved in corruption and bad administration," he stated.

Former CM slams govt. in power for corruption, bad administration

"On 26 July 2019, BJP came to power. On 26 July 2021, he (BS Yediyurappa) resigned. They executed operation Kamala by purchasing 14 MLAs and forming a government. He destabilised the coalition government and formed power by purchasing MLAs. This is an illegitimate government," Siddaramaiah said.

The Former Chief Minister also slammed the BJP government at the Centre and state and said, "Centre has answered and said that no one died due to a shortage of oxygen. Like Sudhakar (State Health Minister) in Karnataka, the union minister also lied while answering."

On July 26, BS Yediyurappa had announced his resignation while addressing an official event marking the completion of two years of his government. Speculations about his ouster gained momentum after he visited the national capital recently where he met PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and BJP president JP Nadda. Reminiscing his journey, the BJP leader expressed hope that the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo will get a third successive term at the Centre and take the country forward.

(With inputs from ANI)