Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, former Union Minister and a staunch critic of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, recently batted in favour of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and said that he would not be a “rubber stamp of BSY”.
Speaking to presspersons in Hubballi, Mr. Yatnal said that Mr. Bommai should be given at least three to four months to do his job. “The new Chief Minister is intelligent. After three-four months he will come out of the shadow of Mr. Yediyurappa,” he said.
On whether the BJP would face the next election under the leadership of Mr. Bommai, he said that time would decide.
Regarding ministerial berth, Mr. Yatnal said that he would not stoop to low-level politics and lobby for it. “I will not beg for a ministerial berth. There is no necessity for me to burn tyres on the streets to become a Minister. The whole world knows, why I was not made a Minister. As per our demand, Mr. Yediyurappa has been changed,” he said.
Regarding reports that he lost ministership due to his ‘loose tongue’, Mr. Yatnal said he would differ on that.
“It was because of my ‘loose tongue’ that Mr. Yediyurappa lost his chair,” he said.
Mr. Yatnal said that he had great respect for former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar’s ‘sacrifice’. Because of Mr. Shettar’s sacrifice Mr. Bommai had become the Chief Minister, he said.
He said that he had information that Mr. Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Vijayendra was still interfering in the administration.
He said he also had some information on what was happening at the Cauvery and asked presspersons to wait for a week.
Mr. Yatnal said that it was not right to lobby for ministerial berths as there were lot of issues before the State government.
On former legislator Somanna Bevinamarad’s reported statement that Mr. Bommai was not trustworthy, Mr. Yatnal said that it might be his personal opinion.
