New Delhi/Bengaluru, 3 Dec

As the entire Basanagouda Patil Yatnal camp of the BJP is now in New Delhi, BJP MLA of that camp, Ramesh Jarkiholi on Tuesday said they are in the national capital to submit their report to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf and not for any other purpose.

He accused BJP State President BY Vijayendra of spreading propaganda against them. Jarkiholi has also accused Vijayendra of indulging in anti-party activities. “We have come here to give a representation to the JPC on Waqf Board, when the entire committee would sit on 5 December. We will personally meet the JPC,” Jarkiholi told reporters in New Delhi.

The Gokak BJP MLA said they have also sought time to meet BJP national president and Union Minister of Health JP Nadda. “The Parliament is in session. If he gives time, we will meet him. If he doesn’t we will come back again,” Jarkiholi said.

Yatnal is a strong critic of BJP veteran and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and his family, especially his son and the party's Karnataka chief BY Vijayendra. He has often targeted them and demanded that the BJP central leadership check Yediyurappa's 'dynasty politics' in order to fight against the 'dynasty politics' of Congress effectively.

Yatnal along with a few senior BJP leaders, including MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, Arvind Limbavali, Mahesh Kumtahalli, and Madhu Bangarappa had taken out a month-long anti-Waqf march from Bidar to Chamarajanagar. The march started on 25 November and will conclude on 25 December.

The march is widely perceived as a show of strength by the anti-Vijayendra faction within the BJP. Yatnal has said the march was not directed against any individual but aimed at "protecting farmers, Sanatana Dharma, and Hindus from eviction notices issued by the state Waqf Board."

Jarkiholi said they all wished to meet the senior BJP leaders to seek their guidance. Speaking about their Delhi visit, he said it is a planned event to submit their report to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf. “We have stated in Kalaburagi and Belagavi that our first phase of anti-Waqf campaign would complete on 1 December. Then we will meet the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf and submit our report. There is nothing special about it,” he explained.

Since, the entire team is in Delhi, he said he is ready for discussion. When asked about the charges of using foul language against Vijayendra, he said no one had ever abused him. “We only spoke in North Karnataka language. You please understand this,” Jarkiholi said.

He accused Vijayendra of causing damage to the party. “Being the state president, he is indulged in anti-party activities and not us. It is the Vijayendra team which is trying to sabotage the anti-Waqf campaign. If he had taken it seriously, we would not have questioned him. If he had done it before Basanagouda Patil Yatnal then we would not have run this campaign,” the MLA said.

He clarified that they did not do anything anti-party and all their actions were within the framework of BJP.

Meanwhile talking to reporters, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said the BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh came to Bengaluru to strengthen the party and not for any other purpose.

“This is a ‘Saghatana Parva’ (festival of organisation) happening, which is related to membership drive. In this connection BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh and Karnataka co-in charge Sudhakar Reddy have come to Bengaluru,” he told reporters. He said there was no politics involved in it.