Bengaluru: The diarygate issue is turning into a personal battle between BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. 

On Tuesday, Yeddyurappa threw another bombshell when he alleged that kickbacks worth Rs 65 crore in the Rs 1,800-crore steel flyover project went directly to the CM’s family.

Siddaramaiah, however, vented his ire at the media when asked to react to the allegation. “Don’t you have any work other than chanting Yeddyurappa’s name,” Siddaramaiah shot at mediapersons.

He refused to even answer the question on the reported move by the state government to go hard on corruption cases against Yeddyurappa, many of which were quashed by the High Court recently.  

Yeddyurappa, who had earlier threatened to reveal more “explosive stuff” from the diary which was allegedly seized from MLC K Govinda Raj’s residence, is determined to sustain the pressure on the Congress government. “We will keep diarygate alive till the assembly election. It will turn into a political noose for Siddaramaiah. There is no way the Chief Minister can escape this,” Yeddyurappa said on Tuesday at a party function.

The diary is said to contain notings on payments worth Rs 1,000 crore made by state Congress leaders to the party high command.

“Siddaramaiah remained mum for three days after the diarygate exploded. He will not be in a position to show his face in public after the entire contents of the diary are made public,” Yeddyurappa said.

Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar too joined Yeddyurappa in raking up the issue. Demanding a CBI probe into the diarygate, Shettar added that a complaint has been lodged with the CBI by one S Thripuranthaka Murthy.