Coalition partners JDS and Congress are now fighting over Kumaraswamy’s grama vastavya (village stay) programme. While deputy chief minister Parameshwara wants to emulate, a few Congress members are against the concept, saying it is Kumaraswamy-centric
Bengaluru: If there are two words that describe the relationship between the ruling partners JD(S) and Congress in Karnataka, experts feel it is ‘asinine’ and ‘vindictive’.
Asinine, because the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing and vindictive, because the Congress feels let down and jealous of chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s moves.
In the latest episode of confusion between the two partners, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara wants to emulate Kumaraswamy’s grama vastavya concept.
He said, “I am also going to hold a grama vastavya programme to understand the problems of people in the villages and solve them on the spot.”
That’s perfectly fine. But while the deputy chief minister is appreciative of the chief minister’s concept, there is animosity from none other than his own party colleagues. Sources say that this move by the chief minister varies from its first version in 2006, when grama vastavya was a major hit. But now, they feel, the move is aimed at giving Kumaraswamy some fresh lease of life after the ignominious defeat in Lok Sabha polls. Moreover, there is this grouse that the concept elevates Kumaraswamy alone and not the coalition.
Not just that, these aggrieved Congress members further feel that it is Kumaraswamy alone who pulls the strings, thereby relegating the others.
They say, “Congress MLAs or ministers need to share the dais with the CM merely as show pieces as everything is handled by Kumaraswamy and his party MLAs.”
The BJP was quick to jump in, taking a jibe at the coalition.
“The members of the coalition government are fighting between themselves. There is no issue that they are not fought over. Now, they are fighting over the issue of grama vastavya as well. This shows it’s not a coalition government, but a government filled with disputes, controversies and mudslinging. Our people certainly don’t need such a government,” says Vivek Reddy, a BJP spokesperson.
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