Not desperate for post: H D Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: The rift between the coalition partners in the state government seems to be worsening with Janata Dal (S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda, directly taking on former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whose supporters have for long kept his party on edge, here on Wednesday.

Indicating that he had had enough, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy too vented his frustration, saying he was not even allowed to breathe. “While I am busy in meetings at Krishna (his official residence- cum-office), an Operation Lotus crops up. How can I work under such conditions?'' he demanded.   

The JD(S) patriarch and the Chief Minister were addressing a party rally at the Palace grounds.  Mr Gowda  described Mr Siddaramaiah as overly ambitious and while he made no mention of his name, it was apparent who his target was when he said,  “As my party president, he did not work. I know what I underwent. He gave an interview to a private channel contending he would have become Chief Minister (before Mr Dharam Singh), if I had brought pressure on (then Congress president) Mrs Sonia Gandhi. He also said that I could have made him Chief Minister before I left for Delhi (to become Prime Minister).''

Recalling the police firing at Doddalli during the Congress government, Mr Gowda said he had not revealed the community of the man who was killed at the time. “Today, I am forced to say that he was a Kuruba.  But they say I did not do anything for that community,'' he regretted.

Noting that the Congress and JD(S) had held two rounds of talks before forming the coalition government, he said barring appointing a Congress candidate as chairman of the state  pollution control board, Mr Kumaraswamy had done everything expected of him. “But still the  Congress leaders complain that their work is not being done. Every legislator talks in different tone. They say that Mr Kumaraswamy is not available. We have given everything, other than one board. But they are painting Mr Kumaraswamy’s work in black. You (Mr Siddaramaiah) were also Chief Minister for five years. Whether illegal or legal, have we tried to paint your tenure black?'' he demanded.

Backing his father ,  Mr Kumarasway, in his address, said he had offered to quit because he was not even allowed to breathe. “During the last week a WhatsApp message has been doing the rounds saying that I am not even available for transfers. But I am not here to do the transfer business. When Mr Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister, he also announced a farm loan waiver and I cleared the  Rs 3,800 crore that was pending. I have also set aside Rs 9000 crore to clear farm loans given by nationalised banks. And in the coming budget, I will set aside Rs 13000 crore for farm loan waiver,'' he added. Responding to another WhatsApp message that complained that milk unions, which paid farmers Rs 27  during the Siddaramaiah government, were now paying them  Rs 20, the Chief Minister emphasised that the government had not cut any subsidy and it had the records to prove it.