Bangalore : On the day he turned 71, KJP President B S Yeddyurappa spoke about seeing his party ruling the State by the time he celebrates his next birthday.

“It is not that I am after the post of chief minister. I want Karnataka to become a model state,” Yeddyurappa said at a programme organised by the Youth Wing of the KJP to celebrate his birthday.

The function held at a choultry in Malleswaram, was attended by a host of his followers including Dhananjay Kumar, Lakshminarayana, Shobha Karandlaje and film actress Shruthi. The actress also fed her leader a piece of cake.

Yeddyurappa said he had presented his first budget as deputy chief minister and finance minister in 2006, with a total outlay of Rs 35,000 crore. “With the blessings of the people, I want to present a Rs two lakh-crore budget for the State within the next five years,” Yeddyurappa said.

Last year, he had converted his birthday function into a show of strength to rattle the BJP central leadership and coerce it to accept his demand that he be reinstated as chief minister.

That was not to be and Yeddyurappa has since quit the BJP and formed his own regional party.

Yeddyurappa, on Wednesday, said justice can be done to the State only by a regional party.

“By winning 15 Lok Sabha seats, we can be instrumental in forming the next government at the Centre and then we can get our due share ,” he said.

He also blamed the government for mismanaging the finances of the State and not doing enough to tackle the drought.-DH News