Yediyurappa rules out his son contesting from Varuna, says he will enter fray from Shikaripura
Bengaluru, Mar 31: Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Friday ruled out his son B Y Vijayendra being fielded from Varuna constituency to take on Congress leader Siddaramaiah and said he would fight the election from Shikaripura.
Addressing reporters, he said, "There is already pressure to field Vijayendra from Varuna, but I have said it long back though there is pressure from Varuna, he should contest from Shikaripura. So, there is no question of Vijayendra contesting from Varuna for whatsoever reason."
Yediyurappa added that Vijayendra will fight from "my constituency" (Shikaripura in Shivamogga district), so there is no question of asking him to contest from Varuna.
To a question on Vijayendra's statement that the BJP has got its own strength and he would abide by the party's decision, Yediyurappa said, "His statement is correct but I am saying that he will contest from Shikaripura. I will convey this to the party high command and Vijayendra. There is no question of him contesting from Varuna in Mysuru."
Yediyurappa is sitting MLA from Shikaripura, and has already announced his retirement from electoral politics.
Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on May 10.
Yediyurappa had on Thursday raised expectations of a high-voltage fight between Vijayendra and Siddaramaiah by not ruling out the possibility of his son throwing his hat in the ring in Varuna.
Varuna in Mysuru district has become among the key seats to watch out for as Siddaramaiah, the Congress legislature party leader and former Chief Minister, is set to enter the fray in this segment, currently represented his son Yathindra.
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BJP's main agenda is to keep minorities in fear, alleges Stalin
Chennai (PTI): DMK President M K Stalin has alleged that the BJP's main agenda is to keep the minorities in fear, and everyone is aware of what is happening in the states governed by the saffron party.
Stalin further alleged that Muslims continued to be subjected to attacks.
"Now, a situation has arisen where even Christmas could not be celebrated peacefully. Christians are being targeted. The entire country is a witness to what is happening in Manipur. The BJP's plan of action is that a state of insecurity for minorities should spread like a wildfire across the country," he told PTI in an interview.
That was why it first enacted the CAA, and the next was an amendment to the Waqf law, and now it is "desperate" to amend the FCRA, he alleged, and lashed out at AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami.
"Palaniswami, who supports all these three amendments and has formed an alliance with the BJP, does not have any concern for the welfare of minorities. However, the DMK is always firm in its commitment to ensure that India must always be a secular state; that people belonging to all religions must be equally respected and that the Constitutional safeguards conferred on minorities must be upheld. If any of these is threatened, the DMK will be the first party to raise its voice against it," he said.
Denying that the BJP made the minorities feel insecure, BJP state vice president M Chakravarthy said the chief minister was making the allegation due to the "fear that the Christian and Dalit votes would go to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam led by actor-politician Vijay."
He was depicting the BJP as a bogeyman in an attempt to create unnecessary apprehension among the minorities, the BJP leader told PTI.
On FCRA, Chakravarthy asked, "What's wrong with ensuring accountability in the use of funds?"
