Ending speculations on his political moves, former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda on Thursday made it clear that he would not quit the BJP for missing out on party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls. However, without taking the name of party veteran B.S. Yediyurappa, he declared that he would take up the task of “cleansing the party State unit”, which is “in the clutches of selfish leaders who believe in politics of family, corruption and caste.”
“I will not rest till the party State unit is cleansed in tune with the Prime Minister’s vision,” Mr. Gowda remarked at a press conference in Bengaluru on Thursday. “Mr. Modi has launched a cleansing drive at the national level. I am the only person who can provide impetus to such a cleansing drive in the party unit,” Mr. Gowda said.
Indicating that he is not alone in such a cleansing drive, he said, “I am not a single-man army. Several leaders of our party are keen to cleanse the party organisation though their methods may appear different.” From being called a party of 40% commission and nepotism, State unit should become “Modi’s BJP in Karnataka”, he said.
“Those entrusted with the responsibility of managing the party in Karnataka are selfish. People are talking that the party is in the hands of those who believe in politics of ‘myself, my children, my caste, relatives and followers’ rather than people of the State. But nobody has courage to say this,” he alleged.
At the same time, he told party workers and leaders, “Let us work unitedly till Lok Sabha polls. After that let us focus on cleansing drive. Because, these are Mr. Modi’s elections which are crucial.” Hinting that the party leadership too is neglecting its own Vokkaliga leaders after entering into poll pact with Vokkaliga-dominated JD (S), he said: “We need social engineering. But it would be detrimental to its own future if the party starts neglecting certain leaders after tying up with the JD (S).”
