Bengaluru: Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday gave his farewell speech in the state Assembly and said no one had removed him from the CM post as he resigned due to his age.
In his emotional bid adieu to the House, the 79-year-old leader said, "This is a rare moment. As I have already said, I will not contest the election again. This is my farewell speech. Thank you for allowing me to speak."
"I have heard opposition and others making allegations that I have been removed from my Chief Minister post, no one has removed Yediyurappa from the post of Chief Minister. He resigned due to his age," Yediyurappa said.
In July 2021, the veteran leader under the instructions of the party's top brass had stepped down as the CM to make way for Basavaraj Bommai.
He further mentioned that he could not forget the status that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given to him.
"I cannot forget the status given to me by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in my lifetime," he said while the Speaker and MLAs asked him to speak again on February 24, the last day of the Karanataka Budget Session.
Some opposition members insisted that he should contest assembly elections again.
Meanwhile, state Law Minister JC Madhuswamy on Tuesday while replying to the Vote of Thanks on the Governor's address in the legislative council, said, "He is still our leader. We will face the next election under his (BS Yediyurappa) leadership."
The BJP has appointed Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya as its co-incharge for the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections, likely to be held in April-May 2023.
Earlier, the party had announced the appointment of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as the incharge and Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai as the co-incharge for the Karnataka election.
BS Yediyurappa, who will turn 80 next month, has had a political career full of twists and turns and controversies too.
He was able to bring BJP to power in 2008 for the first time in Karnataka. He resigned in 2011 as CM after being marred in a case of corruption only to be acquitted in 2016. After forming his own political outfit, he after a brief period merged it with BJP and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Shimoga and won the same.
He later contested to win the 2018 Karnataka Assembly polls when he took oath as Chief Minister for 2 days and then resigned because the party was unable to prove a majority.
A year later, BSY was able to stage a coup and 18 MLAs jumped ship to BJP from the opposition Congress and JDS and Yediyurappa became CM for the fourth time in his career.
Yediyurappa has also served as the BJP Karnataka president on three occasions.
