By IANS,
New Delhi : Karnataka’s Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Monday said he would send a team to Gujarat to study the development model followed by Chief Minster Narendra Modi.
“I will send my team to Gujarat soon to see the development activities there for implementation in Karnataka,” Yeddyurappa told reporters.
He is here to attend the national executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Asked if he was following in the footsteps of BJP leader Modi, Yeddyurappa said: “I am following (former prime minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Even Modi is following Atalji.”
Queried if he was not following BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, he refused to get drawn into a debate. “Even Advani is following Atalji,” he said.
“My aim is development, development and development of the state,” Yeddyurappa said.
Yeddyurappa, a former Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) activist who was sworn in on May 30, heads the first BJP government in a southern state.
Modi, battling charges of communal bias, proved his critics wrong and led the BJP to yet another victory in Gujarat in December. He credited his victory to the all-round development of the state.
“I will request the government of India to amend Article 371 (which gives special status to backward regions for balanced development) to include Hyderabad-Karnataka region,” Yeddyruppa said.
He mentioned implementation of the D.M. Nanjundappa Committee report in this regard.
“I never consider the office of the chief minister as kingship. I consider this as a position given to me by the progressive people of Karnataka to serve them as their servant,” he said.
Promising a corruption-free regime, Yeddyurappa said he would pursue cases wherever required against the previous regime headed by the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S). The BJP was the minor partner in the coalition and Yeddyurappa was the deputy chief minister.
On the Hogenakkal irrigation water issue and the Cauvery water dispute with neighbouring Tamil Nadu, he said: “We will discuss the issues with Tamil Nadu and the central government.”
Development of Bangalore city and improving the power situation in the state would be on top of his agenda, he said.
“In the rural areas I will implement former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s PURA (Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas) programme and also his Vision-2020 (a development plan to make India a great power by 2020),” he said.