BENGALURU:Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has had his way again. This time over his wish to present a full-fledged budget. Thanks to the growing bonhomie between Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Kumaraswamy, the latter has put the state Congress leaders on the defensive. The bonding between the duo and the CM’s preference to deal directly with Rahul to resolve issues related to the coalition government is causing a few worries for state Congress leaders.
Kumaraswamy — who was livid after chairman of Coordination Committee Siddaramaiah flagged down his proposal to present a fresh full-fledged budget and instead suggested he present a supplementary budget — was a happy man as he emerged from Rahul’s residence. Rahul not only gave the green signal for Kumaraswamy to present his own budget, but he is said to have asked the CM to directly speak to him in case of any hitches in the coalition governance. The gesture from Rahul, coming in the backdrop of his support for Kumaraswamy’s plans for farm loan waiver even before discussing it in the Coordination Committee, has not gone down well with many state party leaders.
A former minister and a close confidante of Siddaramaiah told TNIE, “There is every possibility of Kumaraswamy ignoring the state Congress leaders and pushing JD(S) agenda by directly dealing with Rahul, who is under tremendous compulsion to script a success story of this coalition and showcase it as a model to woo other regional parties ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls.” The development is seen as a snub to Siddaramaiah, who questioned the need for a full-fledged fresh budget. Siddaramaiah’s silence after HDK-Rahul talks and his stay at a nature cure centre for the next two weeks, away from politics, is being seen as a sign of disquiet among a section of state leaders.
“Rahul’s penchant to give in to Kumaraswamy’s demands and requests is threatening to erode the sanctity and relevance of the coordination committee headed by Siddaramaiah. It could cause immense damage to Congress’ interests,” a KPCC functionary said.
Some of the state leaders had raised their concerns when Kumaraswamy intervened to defuse dissidence within Congress by holding talks with M B Patil. The party high command had not only maintained silence but even assured full support to HDK’s initiatives to ensure stability of the government. Another ministerial aspirant and Congress MLA C S Shivalli too had met the CM.
Rahul’s assurance of full support to Kumaraswamy to ensure stability of the government has raised concerns of many Congress MPs too as the party has announced pre-poll pact with JD(S) for 2019 LS polls.
CONG MPs WORRIED TOO
The Rahul-Kumaraswamy bonhomie has disturbed some of the Congress MPs too as JD(S) is said to be preparing to demand 10 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state to contest as part of the proposed pre-poll pact with Congress. The JD(S) list is said to include Tumakuru, Kolar and Chikkaballapur, which are presently represented by Congress MPs. “What will be our fate if Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy succeed in striking a deal directly with Rahul without taking the state Congress leaders into confidence?” is the question being asked by some of the Congress MPs in the state.