BENGALURU:Accusing Congress of driving Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to desperation, Union Minister Arun Jaitley has termed the latter as a ‘tragedy king’. Advocating the need for strong and decisive leaders like Narendra Modi for India, Jaitley has cautioned the nation against a ‘Bechara’ coalition leadership.
In a blunt reaction, KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao asked Jaitley to look into BJP’s efforts to strike unholy alliances with incompatible allies before calling Congress-JD(S) alliance as opportunist.
Taking a dig at the efforts of opposition parties to form a Federal Front against BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election and Congress showcasing its alliance with JD(S) in Karnataka as a model for drawing other regional parties towards it, Jaitley has in his Facebook post said, “The country has been watching with keen interest the developments in Karnataka in the past two months. Congress is doing to Kumaraswamy what it did to Charan Singh, Chandrashekar, H D Deve Gowda and
I K Gujral in the past. It is the obvious consequence of a non-ideological opportunistic alliance with no positive agenda. The basis of the negative agenda is ‘Keep Modi Out’,’’ he said.Jaitley’s comment comes in the backdrop of Kumaraswamy’s recent emotional speech. Speaking at a public event in Bengaluru on Saturday, Kumaraswamy had said as he wiped his tears, “You are standing with bouquets to wish me, as one of your brothers became CM and you all are happy, but I am not. I know the pain of coalition government. I became Vishkanth (Lord Shiva who swallowed poison) and swallowed pain of this government.”
Cong-JD(S) alliance is opportunistic, says Jaitley
H D Kumaraswamy’s words reflect the differences within the coalition between Congress and JD(S) over many issues including the farm loan waiver. Jaitley termed the Congress-JD (S) alliance as opportunistic. “Its objective was only survival and not serving the nation,” he said. Jaitley said the country needed a strong leadership like the one being provided by Modi.
“PM Modi has clearly demonstrated the advantages of a decisive leadership. India’s PM and his government has to overcome the challenges that India faces today,” Jaitley wrote. “Can a leadership unsure of itself meet the challenge of eliminating poverty and transforming the world’s fastest growing economy into a developed nation? He cannot be seen like the CM of Karnataka as a tragedy king. If such a coalition is a cup of poison, why even dream of inflicting it on the nation? The leader of the world’s fastest growing economy cannot be a ‘Bechara’,” Jaitley said.
“Listening to these statements of an Honourable CM, my memory took me back to the dialogues of the tragedy era of Hindi cinema. If this is the consequence of a two-party coalition, what is it that a disparate group of parties with no ideological similarity offer to India? India is today passing through a phase where a great opportunity awaits it ... To confront ... challenges, India needs a strong and cohesive government,” Jaitley argued.