Mangalore / Bangalore, Oct 16: Ever since B S Yeddyurappa landed in jail on the evening of Saturday October 15, people of Karnataka, wherever they are, have been talking of nothing but the rise and fall of south India's first BJP chief minister.
On Saturday, Yeddyurappa went down in the history of Karnataka as the first former CM to be sent to jail, and only the third in the history of India after former Maharashtra CM A R Antulay, and current Tamil Nadu CM (then former) Jayalalithaa.
File pic
BJP supporters around the state did not open their lips, unlike last time when they called for Karnataka bandh when the governor approved the prosecution of Yeddyurappa. But Congress has been celebrating. In the coastal cities of Mangalore and Udupi Congress workers poured into the streets to celebrate but did not get much attention from the media. Elsewhere in the state too, Congress workers shouted slogans against the former CM and rejoiced.
As reported earlier, the state JD(S) leadership was not in a mood to celebrate, because it may be quite sure that their state Supreme is next in line to enter the Parappana Agrahara jail in Bangalore. In fact, Kumaraswamy has gone to the extent of expressing his unhappiness over Yeddyurappa's arrest.
Interestingly, people of coastal Karnataka have been busy speculating as to why this has happened to Yeddyurappa, who was until recently known as BJP's poster boy in South India, and who was instrumental in bringing the first BJP government in southern part of the country.
"Perhaps, he lied in Dharmasthala on June 27 this year when he challenged Kumaraswamy to come and take oath. It is a holy place where hundreds of thousands of devotees from across the world come and get healed," some people were heard discussing.
"Absolutely, there was no need to bring God into politics. Now you see, both former CMs are in trouble, and this is mainly because of playing politics in the name of Lord Manjunatha, who is a very powerful diety, and has millions of devotees worldwide," says a 55-year-old Mangalorean, who is a great devotee of Lord Manjunatha in Dharmasthala.
"I am a supporter of Yeddyurappa, but he should not have done that. Both Kumaraswamy and Yeddyurappa have made mockery of God by using His name for their political gains. Though Yeddyurappa decided to take back the 'oath' challenge, he must have lied earlier by using Manjunathaswamy's name. This could be the reason for his downfall," he said.
The two leaders' Dharmasthala visit had become a big issue and the entire national media highlighted it. Yeddyurappa had given open challenge to Kumaraswamy by inviting him to Dharmasthala. Yeddyurappa reportedly spent not less than five million rupees for the paper advertisement, and some additional millions over security issues. But the loss was borne by the state exchequer.
There are several in the coastal region who endorse this theory. People in this part of the world are greatly god-fearing and don't like mixing devotion with politics. Coastal Karnataka, known as a strong belt for BJP, has shown no sympathy for Yeddyurappa, with some people going on to quote the Kannada proverb "Maadiddunno Mahararay".
Some other BJP sources told this correspondent that L K Advani's Jan Chetna Yatra was a big headache for senior state BJP leaders as they were worried about the timing of the Yatra coinciding with the court cases against Yeddyurappa. Many leaders expected Yeddyurappa's arrest this month, but now that it has come at least a fortnight before Advani's Yatra is to reach Karnataka, they are relieved to some extent.
Known as a big supporter of Yeddyurappa, Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda cancelled his Mumbai trip Saturday evening after the news of the arrest broke. He was in Bangalore airport to catch the flight to Mumbai where he was expected to attend the Tulunadu cultural event.
On Sunday morning, Yeddyurappa was admitted to hospital due to chest pain. His close followers including Sadanada Gowda, Shobha Karandlaje, Renukacharya and others visited him, and later talking to media, the chief minister said that Yeddyurappa was weak and not in a position to even talk.
According to latest reports reaching Daijiworld, Yeddyurappa will be in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the state-run Sri Jayadeva hospital here for the next two days as he is suffering from multiple health problems and mental stress.
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