Bangalore: Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy on Monday threatened to step down over statements by Congress lawmakers saying that they considered former CM Siddaramaiah as their only CM. Kumaraswamy was furious when he was asked to respond to these statements.
“If they want to continue with the same thing, I am ready to step down. They are crossing the line,” Mr Kumaraswamy told reporters.
“Congress leaders have to watch out for all these issues. Congress leaders must think about all these things and control them… They are crossing the alliance’s line. This is not going to affect me but Congress leaders only,” the Chief Minister said.
It was Congress MLA ST Somashekar who the first to show his displeasure over the state premier. He also said there would have been “real development” if Siddaramaiah had got another term. Another Congress leader, minister C Puttarangashetty, said, “Only Siddaramaiah is my chief minister”.
Kumaraswamy faced the biggest blow when his deputy G Parameswara of the Congress said, “Siddaramaiah has been the best Chief Minister. He is our Congress Legislature Party leader. For the MLAs, he (Siddaramaiah) is the chief minister. He (Somashekar) has expressed his opinion. What is wrong in that? We are all happy with him (Mr Kumaraswamy),” Mr Parameswara said.
Reactions to the controversial statements
However, Former Karnataka CM & Congress leader Siddaramaiah reacted by saying that, “You (media) are the people who create trouble. You ask one person,
Meanwhile, Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Indian National Congress in Lok Sabha, has asked the Karnataka Congress MLAs to act responsibly and not react openly to media. He further said that the Congress and other parties have come together to fight BJP-RSS. He also said that it is not advisable for any member to speak against wishes of the party high command. Such incidents will create confusion in coalition.
Karnataka Congress in-charge KC Venugopal has asked state Congress to send a show cause notice to ST Somashekar: ANI
Rife in between the ruling JDS-Congress coalition might be a bad news for Siddaramaiah and Co for the upcoming General Election.
Also Read: Priyanka Gandhi Is Bipolar, Beats Up People: Subramanian Swamy
Ms Kalinga