Mysore/Mysuru: Thousands of BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) workers gathered for the valedictory of the Mysuru Chalo Padayatra at Maharaja’s College Grounds this morning.

Held a day after Congress Janandolana Convention at the same venue, this event became a display of strength for both the saffron and regional parties against their common rival, Congress, which is allegedly embroiled in scandals.

Former CM B.S. Yediyurappa, Union Ministers  H.D. Kumaraswamy and Pralhad Joshi, BJP Karnataka Incharge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra, Opposition Leader in Legislative Assembly R. Ashok, Opposition Leader in Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayan Swamy, and other BJP-JD(S) leaders inaugurated Convention by offering floral tributes to the portraits of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Maharshi Valmiki and Goddess Bhuvaneshwari.

In response to allegations made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar against Yediyurappa and JD(S) leader H.D. Deve Gowda’s family during the Congress Convention, various documents related to the allocation of 14 sites under the 50:50 scheme to B.M. Parvathi, wife of Siddaramaiah, were displayed on an LED screen at the event.

Former Minister and JD(S) State Working President S.R. Mahesh provided a detailed explanation of these documents, including sanction letters, site allotment records and possession certificates.

Retaliation to Congress charges

In retaliation to the Congress party’s flex boards accusing the JD(S) of corruption, the BJP-JD(S) alliance also displayed flex boards featuring news clippings about scams in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes (ST) Development Corporation Ltd.

Earlier in his address, JD(S) State Core Committee President G.T. Devegowda stated that the Padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru aimed to expose the Congress Government’s corruption.

He emphasised that the current Government should be ousted and replaced with a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government. Devegowda criticised the Congress for failing to initiate any development projects in the State even after 14 months in power. “We must win the fight against the MUDA scam and our struggle will continue until the Government falls,” he declared.

‘CM must resign’

Former Minister B. Sriramulu also took a strong stance against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to resign voluntarily out of moral responsibility. “You undertook a Padayatra to Ballari 14 years ago and now we are staging a Padayatra against you,” Sriramulu said.

The Padayatra, which arrived in Mysuru last evening, resumed this morning after paying respects at the Sri Guru Raghavendraswamy Mutt on Narayan Shastry Road. BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra and JD(S) Youth President Nikhil Kumaraswamy led the procession, accompanied by enthusiastic party workers to the convention venue.

Notable attendees included Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Haveri MP and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former MP Prathap Simha, former Ministers C.S. Puttaraju and B.C. Patil, Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Ravikumar, and former Ministers N. Mahesh and Bandeppa Kashempur.