Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has expressed his displeasure, saying, "BJP's factionalism is our weakness, while our weakness is a strength and weapon for Congress."
Speaking here on Thursday, he expressed his anger over the differences within the BJP and said, "Everything has come to the attention of the high command. I have also written two letters to the higher-ups about this. However, for some reason, the higher-ups are not paying attention to us."
"Even when I was the (Karnataka BJP) president, there were bigger groups than this. The (late) Ananth Kumar and (BS) Yediyurappa group were fighting strongly, saying that we built the party. But (late) Ananth Kumar and Yediyurappa group never took to the streets. The workers are in a lot of pain due to the internal differences within us," Gowda said.
"I cannot express my mental pain to anyone. The current situation of the party is a big tragedy. Even after the formation of the Maharashtra government, the high command should pay attention to Karnataka. Whoever does something wrong, the high command should take action without hesitation," he said.
"The earthworm should increase the wealth of the soil, not become a cobra," the senior BJP leader quipped.
"In the past, when we lost elections, we did not hold introspection meetings. We did not even do the work of identifying our weaknesses. The mentality of many of our leaders is that our strength is to make anti-party statements. There are many failures in the Congress. We are not able to utilise the available environment properly. We have different teams, all of them have connections with national leaders. Those who talk on the streets are not fit to be in our party," he added.
"There are many of us who call ourselves self-styled leaders. If real disciplinary action is taken against one or two, the rest will be fine. I will not name any group. I am saddened that the state BJP has come to this situation today. The high command should intervene immediately. Anyone who shows indiscipline should be disciplined. There is no question of me laying down my arms. I will also bring it to the attention of the high command," he said.
"It is wrong to come to the streets and talk about the party's issues, to hold separate meetings. We thought that we, the elders, should convene a meeting and call both the groups and talk. But when they took to the streets, we realised that this was not in our hands. The BJP's dissent has gone beyond the hands of the elders of the state. I have one thing to say to both our factions. Instead of going to the streets here, take a flight to Delhi. We have wonderful leaders in Delhi. Go to Delhi and talk about the party's issues and fix them. Otherwise, you all are worthless to call them loyal party workers," he said.
"The Karnataka BJP should not have come to this pitiful situation. No senior leader of the state BJP can fix the current situation. No matter how hard we fight in the assembly, it is not worth a penny. Leaders who work by putting prestige aside should come to the BJP. State leaders who are Union ministers should also pay attention to the party organisation. Union ministers from the state should pay attention to the party's issues," he demanded.
"We will discuss everything in the next core committee meeting. Then I plan to send a report to the high command. I do not accept that internal strife is the reason for the by-election defeat. In this one and a half years, we have not shown ourselves to the people as a powerful opposition party. Even if the Congress is offering us things in a golden bowl, we are not able to accept it," he said.
The BJP lost the recently held by-elections to three Assembly seats in Karnataka.
"Anyone can demand a change in the state president. But the high command decides what to do. The seniors think about it. I just want the party situation to improve. There is an internal fight in the BJP, people are saying that they cannot do anything to the government. This problem is causing great damage to the BJP. I cannot tolerate all this chaos happening in the party," he said.
"That is why I have decided to go to Delhi again. There is a core committee meeting on December 3. We will discuss this there and urge the high command to put a stop to all this," Sadananda Gowda added.
Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who has been openly making statements against B S Yediyurappa and BY Vijayendra for a long time, has recently joined hands with other supporting MLAs to protest against the Congress government over the Waqf property issue separately.
The anti-land-grabbing public awareness campaign organised by BJP MLAs Yatnal and Ramesh Jarkiholi in five districts against Waqf land was launched from the border district of Bidar on Monday. Also, Yatnal had accused Yediyurappa and BY Vijayendra of being responsible for the BJP's defeat in the recent by-elections.
