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Yeddyurappa sets five-year deadline for State’s progress

— Photo. Bhagya Prakash K.

Stern: The former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP leader L.K. Advani speaking at a party rally at the National College Grounds in Bangalore on Saturday.

BANGALORE: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has declared that he will not contest elections again if he fails to bring about development in the State in general and Bangalore in particular in the next five years.

Addressing the Vijay Sankalp rally, organised by the BJP in Bangalore to seek a comprehensive mandate for the party in the Lok Sabha polls, the Chief Minister vowed to “change the picture of the State and Bangalore.”

Speaking in the presence of party leaders L.K. Advani and Rajnath Singh and the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States, Mr. Yeddyurappa listed the development works taken up by him in Karnataka.

The Chief Minister said he was planning to constitute a task force for monitoring the implementation of development projects and also ensuring quality. He would also take steps to appoint a special committee to monitor the implementation of Nanjundappa Committee’s recommendations on removing regional imbalances.

The first Metro Rail would commence operations from 2010, while the complete work on the first phase of Metro would be completed by 2012.

Massive investment would be made on upgrading the roads in Bangalore and other parts of the State.

He challenged the Opposition Congress and the Janata Dal (S), who have charged his Government with failure on all fronts, to come to a public debate on the achievements of the Government.

Alleging that the Opposition parties were unnecessarily trying to find fault with the Government, he asked them to wait for the next five years.

The Chief Minister defended the wooing of MLAs of other parties by claiming that such a step was necessary to provide stability to the Government in the wake of efforts by the Opposition to destabilise the State Government.

Speaking on the occasion, president of the BJP State unit D.V. Sadananda Gowda said that the ensuing elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike were important for the party.

Party general secretary H.N. Ananth Kumar alleged that the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) had not contributed to the development of Bangalore’s infrastructure.

Security was tight at the rally. People were made to pass through metal detectors and vehicular movement on some of the roads near the venue of the rally — National College Grounds — was banned. Though a bullet-proof podium had been provided, Mr. Advani did not use it while addressing the gathering.

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