Deve Gowda targets Siddaramaiah again over collapse of coalition govt
Bengaluru: JDS patriarch H D Deve Gowda has indicated the Congress-JDS coalition government in Karnataka collapsed because the national party's high command decided to make his son H D Kumaraswamy the chief minister without consulting its leader Siddaramaiah.
Continuing to target Siddaramaiah, the former prime minister termed the Congress high command decision 'wrong', a day after he had alleged that a few Congress friends wanted to unseat the coalition government as they could not see Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister.
"I have clearly said that without taking Siddaramaiah, who was Chief Minister for five years, into confidence Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi all of a sudden came and said Kumaraswamy is the next Chief Minister, it was their wrong decision," Gowda told reporters here on Thursday.
He was referring to his interview to a newspaper in which he had held Siddaramiah responsible for the collapse of the government last month, but in remarks made on Wednesday did not name Siddaramaiah.
The coalition government collapsed on July 22 after the confidence motion moved by the then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was defeated in the Assembly, bringing to an end his 14-month long turbulent tenure marked by dissidence within the Congress.
Raising a banner of rebellion, sixteen MLAs (13 from the Congress and 3 JDS) had resigned as legislators which culminated in the fall of the coalition government.
Siddaramaiah had come under criticism after the government collapsed as most of the rebel Congress MLAs, including S T Somashekar, Byrati Basavaraj, MTB Nagaraj, Munirathna and K Sudhakar, were considered his loyalists.
However, rubbishing claims that he instigated those MLAs to resign and destabilise the government, Siddaramaiah had called the allegation as false made with malafide intention.
"Rebel MLAs are trying to shift the blame on me after widespread public backlash against them for betraying & back-stabbing both the electorate & the party. Everything will be clear when the dust settles but by then they would have bitten the dust," he had tweeted.
Congress and JDS considered arch rivals, especially in old Mysuru region, had bitterly fought against each other during the 2018 Assembly polls, but joined hands after the elections threw up a hung verdict to keep BJP, the single largest party in the 225-member Assembly, out of power.
Since day one, the government was facing trouble from within as barring the top leaders of both parties, their rank and file did not accept the alliance.
Reflecting strains in the JDS-Congress coalition government in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy had once said he was "not happy" being in the top post and was swallowing the pain like 'Vishakantha' (Lord Shiva), who drank poison.
At one stage, many legislators and also Ministers from the Congress demanded that their legislature party chief Siddaramaiah be made the Chief Minister, prompting Kumaraswamy to even threaten to step down before the rebels took the decisive step of resigning as MLAs.
Following the collapse of the government, BJP under the leadership of B S Yediyurappa has assumed power on July 26 and proved its majority in the Assembly two days later.
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DMK ally blames party's 'big brother' attitude, exits alliance ahead of TN polls
Chennai (PTI): Ahead of the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi on Sunday announced quitting the DMK-led SPA, with its founder T Velmurugan objecting to the ruling party's "big brother" attitude.
The decision was taken also following his party being "ignored,", Velmurugan, incumbent MLA from Panruti (Cuddalore dt) Assembly segment, told reporters here.
"We were told during seat-sharing negotiations that we will be allotted one seat for the Assembly polls. We have been raising a set of demands, including regarding social justice. We were told when other parties are not asking for any demands, why you are making such demands," Velmurugan said.
"I have been repeatedly asking the government to fulfil at least some of the demands. But the DMK has been ignoring it," he claimed.
On his further course of action, he said that his organisation would not join the NDA in Tamil Nadu and indicated that he was talking to some parties over forming an alliance.
Further, "we have been making charter of demands to the negotiation panel (of the DMK). I have been informing that there was not any problem on allocation of seats but immediately take steps to fulfil these demands," he said.
Recalling that he has been speaking about the same demands in the legislative assembly for several years, Velmurugan alleged that "the DMK-led government did not care about them."
During seat-sharing negotiations, Velmurugan claimed, the approach of the election panel of the DMK was like a "big brother".
"We were told that when political parties including Congress, Communists, and MDMK did not place any such demands, as a legislator and the representative of a small party, they did not deem it fit for us to give such demands and ask them to be fulfilled. "
"Treating us like this is not acceptable", Velmurugan added.
He accused some officials of complaining to Chief Minister MK Stalin and his ministers that he is constantly "giving trouble" to the government, Velmurugan alleged.
He questioned why the DMK government was refusing to conduct a Caste Census in the state.
"How can DMK walk the path of social justice while keeping forces against social justice by its side. When states like Odisha, Bihar conducted caste census, why the DMK did not respect my voice," he asked.
Maintaining that he has been in the DMK-led alliance for five years and successfully contested under the Dravidian party's 'Rising Sun' Symbol in 2021 elections, he expressed his gratitude to Stalin and the alliance parties who wanted him to continue in the alliance.
"In accordance with the decision taken collectively by our party's executive committee, general council, political leadership committee and based on the powers given to me, I announce that from today, Tamilaga Vazhvurimai Katchi is withdrawing from the DMK-led alliance," he said.
DMK leads the multi-party Secular Progressive Alliance and the constituents include Congress and Left parties.
Meanwhile, responding to the party's exit from SPA, DMK General Secretary and state minister Durai Murugan said, "When someone leaves an alliance, will they say it is a good government and that is why we are leaving."
"They will only leave by saying that this regime is not good. This is just what is habitually said (by parties whenever they quit an alliance)."
Asked whether further talks may be held with Velmurugan, he said, "negotiations are not my subject. Leave me out of it."
