BELAGAVI: “I would never have become Chief Minister in my life If I had continued in JD(S)”, remarked CM Siddaramaiah in the Assembly on Thursday. The sharp response came after JD(S) leader Y S V Datta pointed out that Siddaramaiah had managed to win more than 50 seats for the JD(S) when he was with that party and had been made the deputy CM holding the Finance portfolio.
A day after JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy chanted “Ab ki baar Kumaraswamy sarkar” by promising to waive farmers’ loans within 24 hours after coming to power, Siddaramaiah chided the JD(S) saying it will never come to power and urged the party to stop making false promises.
Without taking names, he said, “You will not come to power even if you own a house in Hubballi or Kalaburagi.” Siddaramaiah, who was instrumental in the formation of the JD(S), led by H D Deve Gowda, had a bitter fallout after he was denied the post of chief minister in the coalition government with the Congress. He was expelled in 2005 along with his supporters H C Mahadevappa and Satish Jarkiholi.
He formed AIPJD and later merged with Congress to contest the Chamundeshwari bypolls in 2006, winning by a margin of 257 votes. He was made opposition leader and later led the Congress to victory and become chief minister in 2013.