Former minister Janardhana Reddy announces new ‘Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Party’

BENGALURU: In the midst of the BJP’s efforts to placate him, former minister Janardhana Reddy finally announced his new ‘Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Party’ on Sunday.

Addressing a press meet at his Bengaluru residence, he said, “I have decided to form a new party and follow the path of Basavanna. I have decided to work with without differences of caste, creed or class. I am stepping into the public domain by recalling the principles of Basavanna. I will break ties with the BJP and establish the Kalyan Rajya Pragati Party.”

“I have never experienced failure in any of my new ventures, and I hope people will bless me for sure”, he added .

Janardhana Reddy held press conference with keeping Basavanna statue in his behind and Late Prime minister Vajpayee’s small statue in the beside.

Referring to the issue between him and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, Janardhana Reddy said, “There will be small issues in houses. We fixed it, Yediyurappa is always like my father. I will give him the same respect”.

When asked if Sriramulu and his friends will join the new party, Reddy replied, “I will not force anyone to join.They have their own opinions. Let them take their own decisions. I will not force Sriramulu to join my party”.

“BJP leaders expelled me for not following the rules of the coalition government. The majority of people have told me that I will be kicked out of the party. Then I said that I would work with the party flag as I was a fan of Vajpayee. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was in the JDU when I got expelled from the BJP,  he had invited me to join the JDU party. but I did not agree to it. I told Bommai that I will leave politics, but not the party,” Reddy said.

He further said, “No one came to my house when I was in trouble, except Yediyurappa and Jagadish Shettar. They alone gave me courage. I remember them. I got cheated by treating everyone as equal, and I trusted them blindly. My friends still recall these things. Everyone praised me when I was good. But no one came when I was in trouble.”

“My wife managed everything, when I went to jail. I was worried about her. She had to face all the difficulties”, Reddy recollected.