“If he (Siddaramaiah) does a correct introspection, he will have to leave Congress,” said HD Kumaraswamy (archive)
Bangalore:
Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday challenged congressional leader Siddaramaiah to build a regional party and win at least 10 seats in his own strength before criticizing JD (S) and his leadership skills.
In a series of tweets, he also responded to Siddaramaiah for claiming that there was an “inside understanding” between BJP and JD (S).
“I have a challenge for Siddaramaiah, who repeatedly criticizes about the number of seats JD (S) could win, over Deve Gowda (supreme of JDS) and myself. Get out of the refuge of the national party, build a regional party and win at least 10 seats on your own … then talk about our leadership, “he tweeted.
“… do not talk lightly about the number of seats JD (S) has won. Building an independent regional party requires leadership. You are not aware of the efforts required to do so. It is not possible on your part “. added.
Kumaraswamy was reacting to Siddaramaiah’s statement in Mysuru on Friday that the former could become CM when Congress agreed to give him the job despite JD (S) winning just 37 seats after the 2018 assembly elections.
The congressional leader had criticized Kumaraswamy for the collapse of the coalition government last year, claiming that he tried to run the administration from a five-star hotel and failed to hold his MLAs together.
Kumaraswamy alleged that Siddaramaiah had planned to overthrow the coalition government months after it was formed and that most of the congressional legislators who defected to the BJP, ultimately bringing the party to power, were his loyalists.
On charges of running the administration from a five-star hotel, the JD (S) leader noted that Siddaramaiah had “blatantly” not vacated his official residence after the 2018 loss.
“Does Siddaramaiah have the moral right to speak about me? I used to work at the office until 12 at night, while he used to go to undisclosed places after 6 pm during his tenure.”
Siddaramaiah on Friday also blamed a section within Congress for his defeat in the Chamundeshwari assembly constituency in the 2018 assembly elections and called on those who had worked against the party during the elections to introspect and resign.
To this, Mr. Kumaraswamy accused Siddaramaiah of having had an internal understanding with opponents in order to have some of his own congressional leaders defeated in some previous elections for fear of being marginalized within the party.
“If he (Siddaramaiah) does a correct introspection, he will have to leave Congress,” he said.
As no party won a clear majority in the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress-JD (S) that had fought each other during the elections came together to form a government with Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister to keep the BJP out of power. .
However, following Lok Sabha’s polling defeat, internal differences emerged and rebellion by some MLAs led to the collapse of the coalition government last year.
Since then, the leaders of Congress and JD (S) have been blaming each other for it.
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