In a no-holds-barred counter to H.D. Deve Gowda, who had squarely blamed him for the fall of the coalition government in the State, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah on Friday said it was the Janata Dal (Secular) national president and his sons H.D. Kumaraswamy and H.D. Revanna who were responsible for the early end of the government.
This comes two days after Mr. Gowda, in an exclusive interview with The Hindu , blamed Mr. Siddaramaiah as being responsible for the collapse of the coalition government after a 14-month stint in power.
On Friday, referring to The Hindu ’s interview, Mr. Siddaramaiah hit back at Mr. Gowda and alleged that it was the “high-handedness” of Mr. Kumaraswamy and his brother Mr. Revanna that had led to the fall of the government. “To hide their mistakes, they are trying to put the blame on me now,” he said.
“Mr. Kumaraswamy never implemented decisions taken by the coordination committee. He approved those decisions only during meetings but never took them forward. Most of his decisions were unilateral; he ignored Congress legislators and did not grant funds for the development of their constituencies. That was the reason why the coalition government collapsed,” he said. “The MLAs are saying this, not me.”
Mr. Siddaramaiah said Mr. Gowda’s allegations against him were motivated, and added, “I will never stoop so low that I would want to topple a government. It is the huttu guna (birth trait) of Mr. Gowda and his sons to do so.”
He claimed he had given “complete support” to the coalition government for 14 months and had never interfered with its functioning. “I agreed without speaking a word because I did not want the BJP to come to power,” he said.
To Mr. Gowda’s allegations that he worked against the JD(S) in the Lok Sabha polls, in which the JD(S) president himself lost in Tumakuru and his grandson K. Nikhil lost in Mandya, Mr. Siddaramaiah admitted that he was against the alliance initially.
“It is true that I had suggested to our high command that we should not have an alliance with the JD(S) for the Lok Sabha polls and instead take up a friendly fight. But our high command was in favour of the alliance. If I am responsible for Mr. Nikhil’s defeat, who is responsible for Congress candidates losing in Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Kolar, and Chickballapur? And then, how did Prajwal [Revanna] win in Hassan? Did our Congress workers not support him there? Mr. Gowda and Mr. Nikhil lost because people were fed up with family politics.”
“Mr. Gowda does not allow anyone to flourish, except his own children and family. He does not allow his own clan — Vokkaligas — to grow. What happened to C. Byre Gowda, K.N. Nage Gowda, D.B. Chandre Gowda, H.G. Govinde Gowda, and others?” he asked.
On bypolls
Asked if the alliance would continue for the bypolls to the 17 constituencies represented by the disqualified MLAs, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the party central leadership would take a decision on the coalition.
Asked what was his individual opinion, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “In a party, there is a high command to take all important decisions.”
‘JD(S) responsible for BJP’s growth’
Describing Mr. Gowda as an “expert in toppling governments”, Mr. Siddaramaiah on Friday held the JD(S) as responsible for the growth of the BJP in Karnataka.
“History is open for all to see. Who toppled the S.R. Bommai and N. Dharam Singh governments? And who cozied up to the BJP overnight?” he asked, referring to the formation of the JD(S)–BJP coalition in 2007 in a 20–20 power-sharing arrangement.
“The BJP would not have gained ground in the State if the JD(S) had not withdrawn support to the Dharam Singh government overnight to join hands with the BJP. They struck an agreement with the BJP to run the government for 20 months, after which B.S. Yediyurappa should have been given the charge. If the JD(S) had not broken its promise, Mr. Yediyurappa would have been the Chief Minister for 20 months and that would have been the end of it. Instead, because of the broken promise, the BJP won 110 seats,” he charged.
Arguing that Mr. Gowda’s allegations against him were “baseless, politically motivated, and unscrupulous”, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the JD(S) national president was “ trying to please the BJP by blaming me”. Mr. Siddaramaiah sought to know why Mr. Gowda had gone out of his way to say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had nothing to do with the BJP’s decision to hand over the phone-tapping case probe to the CBI.
On Umesh Katti’s call
Replying to queries if Umesh Katti, BJP MLA, had contacted him, Mr. Siddaramaiah on Friday said the Hukkeri legislator had called him to enquire about his health as he had undergone an eye surgery. “Nothing else happened. I will not call anybody to the party or ask anybody to leave,” he said.
Trading charges
H.D. Deve Gowda: Congress’ intention was to keep the BJP out, but Siddaramaiah could not reconcile with the decision. The fight was between him and H.D. Kumaraswamy, and it became difficult for him to see Mr. Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister. He is responsible for the collapse of the government.
Siddaramaiah: I will never stoop so low as to topple a government. That is the huttu guna (birth trait) of Mr. Deve Gowda and his sons. Their high-handedness and unilateral decisions without taking Ministers and MLAs into confidence led to the fall of the government.
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Deve Gowda : Mr. Siddaramaiah’s own followers [Congress rebels] have on record stated that he was responsible for my defeat as well as my grandson’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
Siddaramaiah: If I am responsible for his and Nikhil’s defeat, who is responsible for Congress candidates losing in Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Kolar, and Chickballapur? Mr. Deve Gowda and Mr. Nikhil lost because people were fed up with family politics.
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Deve Gowda : Mr. Siddaramaiah’s aim was to have B.S. Yediyurappa as Chief Minister and become Leader of the Opposition. He and Mr. Yediyurappa have worked together in the past.
Siddaramaiah : It is understandable if someone says I toppled the government to become the Chief Minister. Toppling the government to become the Opposition leader is unheard of and ridiculous!
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Deve Gowda : He is angry with me for not making him the Chief Minister in 1996 when I left for Delhi to take over as Prime Minister, and again in 2004 when the coalition was formed. Sonia Gandhi has to clarify now how much I attempted to make him the Chief Minister in 2004.
Siddaramaiah : Mr. Kumaraswamy has himself admitted on the floor of the House that although I had a chance to become the Chief Minister in 2004, the JD(S) ensured that I missed the chance. It is on record in the Assembly.
