Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday, in his most direct threat, warned the Coalition partner Congress to desert coalition if things are not controlled. Karnataka Chief Minister as quoted by ANI said he is ready to step down as the CM. ‘Congress leaders have to watch all that issues, I’m not the concerned person for it. If they want to continue with it, I’m ready to step down’. ‘They’re crossing the line…Congress leaders must control their MLAs’ HD Kumaraswamy added.
#WATCH: Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy says "…If they want to continue with the same thing, I am ready to step down. They are crossing the line", when asked 'Congress MLAs are saying that Siddaramaiah is their CM'.' pic.twitter.com/qwErh4aEq4
— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2019
JD(S) Leader and Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s ‘threat’ comes following the remarks of Congress MLAs. Lawmaker Somashekhar while launching a scathing attack said: “It is seven months since the coalition government came to power, but development work has not yet taken off. Had Siddaramaiah got another five-year term, we would have seen real development.”
Another Congress Leader and Siddaramaiah‘s supporters hailed him with Congress minister C Puttaranga Shetty going to the extent of saying that he still considers his leader the Chief Minister.
Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said there was nothing if an MLA was putting his views. He said’ Siddaramaiah has been the best Chief Minister. He is our Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. For the MLA, he (Siddaramaiah) is the Chief Minister. He has expressed his opinion. What is wrong in that? We are all happy with him ( Kumaraswamy).
While promoting the Lawmaker view, SG Siddaramaiah said he would have completed the development work if were given another term as the Chief Minister of the state.
However later he blamed the Media and said, ‘You (media) are the people who create trouble. You ask one person, then second person and then third person. There is no trouble, I will speak to HD Kumaraswamy’
Former Karnataka CM & Congress leader Siddaramaiah on 'Congress MLAs say Siddaramaiah is their leader': You (media) are the people who create trouble. You ask one person, then second person and then third person. There is no trouble, I will speak to HD Kumaraswamy pic.twitter.com/Be7letrUrQ
— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2019
Though, HD Kumaraswamy reacted angrily, his father and JD(S) Chief HD Gowda termed it as a situation of having ‘Difference of Opinion’ in a Coalition Government. ‘I choose not to react on this. These things happened in Coalition Governments’ HD Gowda said.
This is not the new Political Tussle in the state where – Congress and JD(S) is in Coalition Government. Earlier, Both the ruling Congress- JD(S) and BJP have alleged each other of ‘Horse-trading’ and trying to topple the seven-month-old coalition Government in the state months before Lok Sabha Polls.
Earlier on January 15, Two Independents MLAs – H Nagesh and R Shankar on Tuesday announced to withdraw their support from Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka.
The Congress-JD(S) together has 117 MLAs in Karnataka Assembly with Congress 80 and the JDS 37, while BJP has 104in the 224-member Assembly. The halfway mark is 113.