NEW DELHI/BANGALORE, 13 November 2007 — Ending the 34-day political impasse, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition headed by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa was sworn in yesterday in Bangalore. Top BJP leaders — L.K. Advani, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar — attended the ceremony. The ceremony was held amid widespread celebrations by thousands of party cadres. The nation’s IT hub turned saffron for the oath-taking ceremony of Yeddyurappa as the first chief minister of a BJP-led government not just in Karnataka but in all of south India. Thousands of party cadres came to Bangalore from across the state, especially Shimoga, the home district of Yeddyurappa.
Though the oath-taking ceremony was originally scheduled for 12.10 p.m., it was advanced by 10 minutes, as noon was considered most auspicious by the BJP leaders who were acting on the advice of astrologers. After Yeddyurappa, BJP’s Govind Karjol, V.S. Acharya, Jagdish Shettar and R. Ashok were sworn in as ministers. The colorful oath-taking ceremony was marked by jubilation — fire crackers, drumbeats, blowing of trumpets and folk dances by troupes and artists.
Soon after being sworn-in, Yeddyurappa told reporters: “The state’s development is our priority.” In a bid to sort out differences with JD-S, a coordination committee would be formed, he said. With former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as his role model, who successfully ran a government with several coalition partners, Yeddyurappa said: “We will follow coalition dharma.”
There would no discrimination against minorities, Yeddyurappa said.
A one-day special session of Karnataka Assembly will be convened on Nov. 23, during which Yeddyurappa will take floor test. “I will prove the majority of my government on Nov. 23,” he said. He has the support of 129 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), including 49 from JD-S.
Exuding confidence that his government will complete the term, Yeddyurappa said: “I assure you that our coalition government will complete 19 months. Let there be no doubt about it. Creation and maintenance of infrastructure is going to be our top priority. We will leave no stone unturned to make Karnataka a model state in the country,” he emphasized.
“All efforts will be made to bring Karnataka, which at present occupies the seventh position among the states, to the forefront,” Yeddyurappa said.
The government’s main priorities would be to provide a result-oriented and responsive governance, maintain communal harmony, to take into confidence all sections of society and ensure safety of minorities and weaker sections like SC/ST and empowerment of women, he said.
