Bengaluru: It has taken nearly a month since the fall of the Kumaraswamy government, but the uneasy coalition between the Congress and JD(S) that only had power as its only glue seems to have finally come apart.
Signaling the virtual end of the 15-month old coalition was former chief minister Siddaramiah, who at a press conference in Bengaluru on Friday breathed fire at JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and his former CM son HD Kumaraswamy for holding him responsible for the fall of the government.
The father-son duo have in separate media interactions in the last couple of days blamed Siddaramiah for Congress MLAs deserting the coalition government and allowing the BJP to wrest power.
Gowda said Siddaramaiah always wanted BS Yediyurappa to be the CM and himself the Leader of Opposition and was not comfortable with HDK running the government.
He even blamed Siddaramaiah for his defeat in the recent Lok Sabha elections. “Siddaramaiah got me and my grandson Nikhil defeated in Lok Sabha elections. He had fielded independent candidate Sumalatha against Nikhil in Mandya,” he said.
Siddaramiah, whose ambition has often been the factor blamed for the coalition being shaky and unstable, said he could not remain quiet anymore.
“Deve Gowda has made some serious allegations against me. Gowda family hates me. They want to finish me politically. They feel that they can finish Congress by pushing me out. Gowda is known for such old tricks,” he said in a scathing attack.
He even charged Gowda of aligning with the BJP to save his family from corruption and telephone tapping allegations.
“Yediyurappa has ordered a CBI inquiry into telephone tapping. Gowda is scared and trying to be in the good books of the BJP high command. That’s why he is now praising PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. Gowda can do anything to save himself and his family,” he said.
The former CM sought to place the blame of the government’s fall on JD(S) and said the BJP has come to power in Karnataka because of “Gowda’s adjustment and selfish politics.”
When asked whether this was the end of the JDS–Congress alliance or will it continue in the future, Siddaramaiah said, “The high command will decide that. I can’t take a decision on such things. In the Assembly, Congress is the main opposition party”.
But Siddaramaiah’s sharp response to the allegations signaled clearly that the gloves are off from both sides and there is no reason to hold back anymore. During the 14 months’ rule of JDS-Congress, Gowda’s had always indirectly blamed Siddaramaiah for the instability of the government. However, Siddaramaiah had refrained from making any attacks on the JD(S).
The Congress workers and leaders in old Mysore region are happy with the latest developments, saying that an end to the alliance will revive the party, which is now facing serious issues because of JD(S) hegemony.
