On a mission to soothe fraying tempers, Karnataka chief minister Kumaraswamy termed former chief minister Siddaramaiah as his “brother”. The mollification comes in the wake of Vishwanath, JDS state president and Siddaramaiah on a warring path. But the BJP was quick to dismiss it as “superficial” and an attempt to save the government
Bengaluru: Close on the heels of former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah lashing out at H Vishwanath, the president of the state JD(S) on Twitter, even terming him “jealous,” chief minister HD Kumaraswamy jumped into the fray to mitigate any possible political ramifications.
Terming Siddaramaiah as his “brother”, the chief minister said that both of them were working in order to improve developmental prospects in the state.
The chief minister made these remarks while he was in Kundagol, campaigning for Kusuma Shivalli, the Congress candidate, for the Assembly by-poll.
With an obvious bid to placate a sulking Siddaramaiah, the chief minister also made it a point to mention that the incumbent government, headed by him, had continued several of the schemes introduced by Siddaramaiah in order to ensure they reached the doorstep of the poor.
All is certainly not well in the Congress-JD(S) coalition. Once Vishwanath and Siddaramaiah had a public joust, ST Somashekar (chairman, BDA) and a known loyalist of Siddaramaiah and Kupendra Reddy, a Rajya Sabha member from JD(S) exchanged verbal volleys, with Reddy asking the Congress to withdraw its support to the JD(S) to which Somashekar said he would revive the issue of meeting of “like-minded” legislators on May 21.
The BJP was quick to dismiss the “brotherhood claims” as superficial.
Nagaraj Gowda, a BJP spokesperson, said, “Congress agenda is to make Siddaramaiah the chief minister. However, they can’t say it directly because Rahul Gandhi is the one who has extended support to the JD(S). Kumaraswamy saying that Siddaramaiah is like his brother is only superficial. It has not from the depths of his heart. Siddaramaiah wants to take revenge as he was thrown out from the party (JDS). Siddaramaiah is also unhappy that he didn’t win from Chamundeshwari (Assembly constituency). All these things are there in his mind. Kumaraswamy addressing Siddaramaiah as his brother is only to retain power.”
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