BJP will continue good schemes of Cong. government: Yeddyurappa

BJP’s chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa on Sunday said his party would continue good welfare programmes launched by the Siddaramaiah government if voted to power.

At a Meet-the-Press programme organised by the Press Club of Bangalore, Mr. Yeddyurappa said the BJP would continue some of the flagship programmes of the Congress government, with their names changed. As an alternative to Anna Bhagya, the BJP would implement Anna Dasoha scheme for providing food items for free to BPL families and subsidised food items to APL families, he said. To a question on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s claim that the BJP had copied several of his government’s schemes in its election manifesto, Mr. Yeddyurappa said, “We will continue the good schemes of the Congress government.”

If voted to power, the BJP would also continue to offer subsidised breakfast, meals and dinner at Indira canteens in Bengaluru and other urban pockets. “Indira” canteens, however, would be named after some other good leaders, he said.

Mr. Yeddyurappa said if voted to power, his government would ensure equal treatment to all communities.

“Transparency, corruption-free governance and development” would be given priority, he said, and hoped that the party would secure a clear majority. On the Chief Minister’s chances of victory in Chamundeshwari and Badami constituencies, Mr. Yeddyurappa said, “He (Mr. Siddaramaiah) will lose in both the constituencies.”

The BJP leader alleged that the Congress was a divided house with leaders such as Mr. Siddaramaiah, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC president G. Parameshwara moving in different directions. The three Congress leaders had not shared a dais in the recent election campaign, he claimed.

He also ruled out the possibility of a fractured mandate and the BJP having any form of an alliance with the JD(S). Asked about former Minister G. Janardhan Reddy’s role in the campaign, Mr. Yeddyurappa said, “Mr. Reddy is not in the BJP”. However, in a democracy, he has every right to campaign in favour of his friends.