Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday launched a scathing against the Congress party saying that he lost goodwill of people and his supporters by joining hands with Congress party.
Speaking at a press conference, Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister said that the goodwill he had earned during the last 12 years was destroyed by Congress leaders, especially Siddaramaiah.
“The goodwill that I had earned from the people of the state in 2006-07 (as CM) and which I had maintained for 12 years despite the big campaign against me for not transferring power to BJP, everything got destroyed by joining hands with the Congress,” HD Kumaraswamy said.
HD Kumaraswamy, however, also clarified that he did want to blame his father former Prime Minister HD Devegowda as he understood and respects his lifelong commitment towards ‘secular’ identity. The former Chief Minister went on to add that he did not want to hurt his father once again in 2018 and joined hands with the Congress party he was against the idea JD(S) to ally with the BJP.
After hung assembly emerged in Karnataka after 2018 assembly polls, the Congress-JD(S) joined hands together in a post-poll alliance to form the government to keep BJP, which was the single largest party in the state, out of power. However, a year after the coalition government collapsed due to internal rebellion and resulted in the formation of a BJP government in the state
I would have been the Chief Minister if I had still aligned with the BJP
The JDS leader also spoke about the torturous time he had to undergo due to his alliance with the Congress party after 2018 assembly elections. HD Kumaraswamy said he would have still been the chief minister if the JD(S) was allied with the BJP.
“Why did I shed tears in just a month’s time after I became CM in 2018? I knew what all was going on. The BJP did not hurt me that way the Congress has to my reputation,” he added.
Kumaraswamy also remembered how both Siddaramaiah and former speaker Ramesh Kumar had said that what they will gain with Kumaraswamy as the CM. He also said he should not have joined hands with Congress that had repeatedly attacked the JD(S) calling it BJP’s “B team”, but because of party supremo HD Deve Gowda’s insistence he agreed to form the coalition government.
“It has now led to my party losing its strength…I fell to the trap, to emotional feelings of Deve Gowda because of which my party that had won 28-40 seats independently in the last three elections is suffering, ” he said.
The former Chief Minister maintained that joining with Congress was the reason for the downfall of his party and his personal goodwill.
Congress made Kumaraswamy cry
During his tenure as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Kumaraswamy had cried publicly a few times because of the difficulties he faced while running coalition government with Congress. He regularly sulked over Congress-JDS alliance in Karnataka. I’m swallowing my pain, which is like swallowing poison, without sharing it”, Karnataka CM had once said in the context of heading a coalition government that lacks people’s mandate. Prior to that, HD Kumaraswamy wailed that he was working like a clerk and not like a CM due to Congress interference.
