Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, while speaking at a public gathering in Channapatna on Tuesday once again reiterated the grief and difficulty he is facing in running the state government, which is a coalition between his Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) and the Congress.
Stressing that he needs to resolve the pain of the people in his state, Kumaraswamy said, “I promise to fulfil all your expectations. I cannot express the pain I am going through everyday… Though I want to express it to you, I cannot… However, I need to solve the pain of the people in my state as I have the responsibility of running the government smoothly.”
Karnataka Chief Minister in Channapatna yesterday: I promise I’ll fulfill your expectations.I can’t express pain I am going through everyday. I want to express it with you, but cannot , but I need to solve pain of people of state. I have responsibility of running Govt smoothly pic.twitter.com/XHKsjABv8I
— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2019
Furthering the ‘poaching’ allegations on BJP, Kumaraswamy also claimed that one of his Members of Legislative Assembly got a call from the BJP and was offered Rs 10 crore to leave the JD(S) and defect to the BJP.
K’taka CM HD Kumaraswamy: One of our MLAs called me after he got a call by a BJP leader. They offered him Rs 10 Cr to leave JD(S) & join BJP. These attempts are being done continuously by BJP leaders. But by God’s grace & your blessings this govt is safe for another 4 yrs (18.02) pic.twitter.com/YJRFTjwbwO
— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2019
However, by now, people of Karnataka are quite familiar with their CM’s disposition as this is not the first instance when Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy has bemoaned about his situation of leading a straitjacketed coalition government.
HD Kumaraswamy once answering a question raised by an India Today scribe had lamented, “If I had got the clear majority, I would have given a better government to Karnataka.”
Prior to this incident, the Karnataka CM wailed that he is working as a clerk and not like a CM due to Congress interference.
Earlier in July 2018, expressing his unhappiness over the coalition government Kumaraswamy had literally cried saying he was unhappy and swallowing the poison of a coalition government.
In a pitching reference to some Congress leaders who are said to begrudging the Karnataka CM, H.D Kumaraswamy for latching on to the highest post, he had broken down at a JD(S) event and said, “You’re happy that your Anna became the chief minister but I do not share your happiness. I’m swallowing my pain, which is like swallowing poison, without sharing it”, Karnataka CM said in the context of heading a coalition government that lacks people’s mandate. Refusing to accept the facilitation Kumaraswamy said in a poignant voice, “If I decide to do so, I can step down within two hours,” clearly exposing the undercurrent between the two parties.
“The chief minister’s post is not a bed of roses, it’s a bed of thorns,” he added.
This leads one to believe that the alliance between Congress and JDS has just been an opportunistic alliance. In the Karnataka Assembly elections in early 2018, the BJP secured 104 seats while the JD(S) and the Congress won 37 and 80 seats, respectively. But, shockingly the Congress and the JD(S) had then forged an alliance to keep the saffron party out of power in Karnataka.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, NDA won 25 seats while Congress and JDS managed only three seats in the state.
