BENGALURU:The humongous farm loan waiver, rehabilitation in flood-ravaged districts running into crores and more importantly, the purported constant threat to his coalition government may be destroying Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s sleep but a city civil court’s order on Monday has come as a relief. At a time of great challenges, Kumaraswamy’s acquittal in a denotification case after more than 10 long years is a silver lining, not just for the Chief Minister but the JD(S) as a whole.
“It is a relief but not a surprise,” said JD(S) spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed reacting to Kumaraswamy’s discharge from the case. The party, as well as its leaders, have maintained that Kumaraswamy was falsely implicated in the case by political rivals. The order, that comes days ahead of the elections to 105 Urban Local Bodies in Karnataka, has enthused party cadres. “Now he has one less thing to worry about. He can use that time for something constructive like the relief and rehabilitation of hundreds who have been displaced due to floods in Kodagu,” Ahmed added.
The order also comes at a time when the Chief Minister has been publicly speaking about cleaning up corruption in the system. The acquittal, the party hopes, will go a long way in helping Kumaraswamy pride on his “clean image”. The court’s order comes as a breather for the Chief Minister who has been under immense pressure by the opposition, as well as the farming community, to waive off all farm loans. For the last three months, the farm loan waiver has been the focus of H D Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Before the modalities of the waiver were sorted out, incessant rains and floods ravaged seven districts of the state.
Even as relief and rehabilitation process is underway in these districts, H D Kumaraswamy, by his own admission, is threatened by efforts to topple his government. His discharge in the case comes as an oasis of relief for Kumaraswamy who is treading on a thin line hurdled with challenges after challenges in the last three months.