Yeddyurappa launches ad blitz to blunt land deals row

BANGALORE/NEW DELHI - Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, reeling under charges of improper land deals, has launched advertisement campaign in newspapers to present his case.

One of the ads titled ‘Heart-felt appeal’ thanks 60 million population of Karnataka. The second one, ‘Strides of progress towards realising the dreams of a prosperous Karnataka’, lists his government’s achievement since coming to power in May 2008.

The first ad occupies quarter page and the second half-page of several dailies in Bangalore and New Delhi.

The ads came out on Thursday in Bangalore and on Friday in New Delhi.

The ad campaign comes after Yeddyurappa got a breather from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership, which allowed him to remain in office in spite of pressure from opposition parties and sections within the party to remove him to save the party’s image.

Yeddyurappa has been accused of favouring his kin with prime land and also facilitating land at throwaway prices to people who financially helped them.

He has denied the charges but made his kin surrender the land.

In the signed first ad, Yeddyurappa talks of his involvement in state politics for nearly half a century and the “many ups and downs in the political arena”.

Without referring to the land scam, the chief minister lists many “achievements” and accuses the opposition of maligning his government.

“They are busily involved in maligning the government. It is a fact that there are many detractors with us. Nevertheless, it is certain that nobody dereil (sic) us from the path of progress. We march forward with an urge to achieve, fearing none even in the midst of many odds,” he declares.

Yeddyurappa acknowledged that “the recent happenings in the state’s political arena have created uncertainties”.

He thanked people of the state, cabinet colleagues and his party’s national leaders “for their whole-hearted support in this hour of crisis” and pledged to strive for a prosperous Karnataka.

The second, larger ad, lists achievements of his government under 10 programmes.