Under fire Yeddyurappa returns Rs 1 crore SUV after furore

After facing flak over SUV car worth more than Rs 1 crore, Karnataka BJP president BS Yeddyurappa has returned the gift from former industries minister Murgesh R Nirani. Downplaying all claims, a statement has been released mentioning how he has relied on different means of transport to travel in last 40 years of politics including car, widely covering all parts of Karnataka.

"Handling the same state tour in the same manner is not an issue at all for me. Hence I have sent back the car provided by Murugesh Nirani yesterday to his residence," he said. The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado provided by sugar baron Murugesh Nirani has stirred the hornet’s nest after reports that the seven-seater luxury vehicle would be used by Yeddyurappa to travel around the drought-hit parts, with questions raised about its propriety. (Also read. Yeddyurappa takes charge as Karnataka BJP chief, sets 150 seat target)

Yeddyurappa, who was compelled to quit over graft charges in 2011, was recently appointed the state BJP president to revive the fortunes of the party, after he was cleared by the court in most of the corruption-related cases. A combative leader who is projected as pro-farmers, Yeddyurappa has set a target of winning 150 of the 224 Assembly seats in the 2018 polls.

The controversy comes close on the heels of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah landing in a row over a gifted Rs 70 lakh diamond-studded Hublot watch that he wore before he handed it over to the state in the wake of a political storm over it.