Face-off between former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and HD Deve Gowda gets ugly
BENGALURU/MYSURU : Barely a month after the Congress-JDS coalition government collapsed in Karnataka, the suppressed frustrations built up during the alliance seems to be oozing out. On Friday Congress legislative party chief Siddaramaiah went all out against JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda retaliating against allegations levelled against him by the former Prime Minister.
Siddaramaiah lambasted Gowda for holding him responsible for the collapse of the coalition as well as his and Nikhil Kumar’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. Dealing the death blow to any future possibilities of a future alliance, Siddaramaiah accused Gowda of trying to impress the BJP, scared of how the saffron party is going after its political rivals.
“When parties that call themselves secular but indirectly support communal forces, we will have to condemn it. Everybody knows which party is elated when allegations are made against me. It looks like Deve Gowda is scared of the way BJP is going after its opponents and is making baseless allegations to make them (BJP) happy,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
Siddaramaiah’s all out attack on Gowda comes in the backdrop of murmurs that the JDS is all set to provide backdoor support to the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the State. The New Indian Express on August 11 had reported on the change of stance in JDS mindset owing to arm-twisting tactics forcing it to back the BJP.
While he maintained that a future alliance was a decision for the high command, Siddaramaiah’s demeanour and Gowda’s personal attacks have made it clear that the prospects are bleak. Those in the Congress, however, believe that Siddaramaiah’s outburst was long pending. “The plan was to expose the JDS right after the results of the Lok Sabha polls but poor performance forced us to continue for the sake of the government,” said a source close to Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah accused Deve Gowda and his absolute control over HD Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna for the government’s collapse. He pointed out that he campaigned for all JDS candidates and reiterated allegations of Kumaraswamy failing to take Congress leaders into confidence, denting the trust factor in the alliance.
“This isn’t the right time to react to allegations made by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Country’s political scenario is unilateral. Talks of differences at a time when secular forces should ideally come together united aren’t healthy. I will respond at the right time,” tweeted HD Kumaraswamy.