Cloak-and-dagger politics by Yeddyurappa

BANGALORE: A day after Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda took a swipe at his felicitation programmes, former CM B S Yeddyurappa hit back, albeit indirectly, by expressing displeasure over the pace of drought relief works being taken up by the state government.Knowing fully well that a direct attack on Gowda would have political repercussions, Yeddyurappa, who was speaking to press persons here on Tuesday, chose to train his guns on the state government officials and     accused them of being in “deep slumber”.“I am not at all satisfied with the attitude of the officials, including that of the chief secretary. They are accustomed to the air-conditioned environments of their chambers. The chief minister should instruct his officials to rush to help people,” Yeddyurappa said.Asked if he was pointing fingers at his successor, Yeddyurappa replied: “I don’t want to say anything about the honourable chief minister or, for that matter,        anybody, but there is a feeling among the people that the government should have done more to tackle drought.”Yeddyurappa also announced that he would tour the drought-hit districts from Wednesday as he was “under pressure from party workers to take stock of the situation”. “I have been getting calls from my workers and well-wishers to tour the state. Therefore, I have decided to tour 7-8 drought-hit districts and give a feedback report to the chief minister,” he said.‘Tour Only for Party’s Benefit’When asked whether his tour would not embarrass the government, Yeddyurappa shot back, saying, “As a former CM, I have every right to give suggestions and tour the state. There should be no problem for anyone. Instead, my tour will strengthen the party and the government.”He also demanded the CM to announce Rs 5 crore each to all districts to take up drought relief works besides increasing fodder procurement price to Rs 5,000 from the current price of Rs 3,000 per quintal.He also urged the chief minister to impress upon his Maharashtra counterpart to get Koyna river water to the state as the Krishna river is completely dry.