CM Kumaraswamy hits out at Cong, raises quit-threat again
Bengaluru, Jan 30: Amid strains in Congress-JDS ties, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Wednesday again threatened to quit if Congress leaders continued to take potshots at him.
"Yes, I had said I would step down if Congress leaders continue to take potshots at me.
If they repeatedly make such statements, how many more days can I tolerate such stuff. Power is ephemeral. What is permanent is you (party workers) and six-and-a-half crore people of this state," he said addressing the National JDS Convention here.
On January 28, Kumaraswamy had threatened to step down over adverse comments by a Congress MLA, prompting the coalition partner to swing into damage control mode.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and incharge of party affairs in the state said the party high command has full faith in Kumaraswamy and the State government.
On Sunday, Congress MLA ST Somashekar had demanded that Siddaramaiah to be made chief minister again.
Somashekhar had claimed that development works had come to a grinding halt here and other parts of the state.
Addressing the convention Wednesday, former Prime Minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda also said the Chief Minister has been hurt by some Congress leaders taking potshots at him.
He also referred to Siddaramaiah's alleged ambitions to become chief minister in 2006-2007.
"Back then, Siddaramaiah had told me that if I had put pressure on Sonia Gandhi, he would have become chief minister, instead of Kumaraswamy. Siddaramaiah is nursing pain and he should be seeking answer from Sonia Gandhi about it," Gowda said.
Kumaraswamy said amid alleged bid to topple his government, it was becoming difficult for him to direct his officials to address people's problems.
"They (BJP and some Congress leaders) are giving threats of dislodging my government by Sankranthi or Rajyotsava Day, besides during assembly session beginning February 6.
Amidst these media leaks, how shall I ask my officials to address people's problems. Just think of the situation I am in? However, I should be grateful to my legislators who have stood behind me," he said.
Kumaraswamy also appealed to farmers not to get carried away with some leaders portraying him as "anti-farmers."
"There is another message being circulated in WhatsApp that I brought down prices affecting milk farmers.
During Siddaramaiah's rule, milk farmers were getting Rs 27 per litre, and I brought it down to Rs 20. I request farmers not to get carried away by this. I am continuing as the chief minister because of you," he said.
Kumaraswamy also asked party chief Deve Gowda to prepare the list of appointments to various boards and corporations to avoid any confusion in running a coalition government.
"... In 2006, I committed a mistake by not heeding to my father (Deve Gowda) and was unable to make appointments to boards and corporations. I do not want to repeat the same mistake while running the present coalition government," he added.
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ED searches: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses Centre of targeting Cong leaders
Chamarajanagara (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday accused the central government and its agencies of consistently targeting Congress members by using searches on their properties, and questioned why similar action is not taken against BJP leaders.
He was reacting to searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday on several individuals, among them the sons of Karnataka Congress MLA N A Haris and the grandson of former Union Cabinet minister K Rahman Khan, in connection with a cryptocurrency-linked money laundering case.
"The central government always targets Congress leaders. Will they raid the houses of BJP leaders?" Siddaramaiah said in response to a question. More than a dozen premises in the city were searched as part of the operation carried out by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The premises searched comprised those of Mohammed Haris Nalapad and Omar Farook Nalapad, the sons of the MLA; Aqeeb Khan, the grandson of veteran Congress leader K Rahman Khan; and an alleged crypto hacker, Srikrishna Ramesh, alias Sriki, officials said.
The money laundering case stems from Karnataka Police FIRs and charge sheets filed in a 2017 case involving the hacking of national and international websites, theft of bitcoins, and the sale of these stolen virtual digital assets (VDAs) through crypto platforms by the alleged hacker Sriki and his associates.
Mohammed Haris Nalapad, Omar Farook Nalapad, and Aqeeb Khan are alleged to be beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime generated through this crypto-linked activity, officials added.
