Karnataka: Blame game over fall of coalition govt continues
Bengaluru: The war of words between the Congress and JDS continued unabated with Siddaramaiah on Sunday slamming H D Kumaraswamy for treating him as an "enemy" and indicated that it led to the fall of the coalition government headed by the latter.
His comments were in response to Kumaraswamy's recent interview to a news portal, in which he reportedly said Siddaramaiah treated JD(S) as its first enemy.
However, Kumaraswamy on Sunday clarified that he had not made such remarks and his interview had been 'distorted'. "There lies the problem. He (Kumaraswamy) started nurturing grudge against me by treating me as an enemy.
Instead of foe, had he considered me as a friend, a trusted man and an ally from the coalition party, nothing would have happened," Siddaramaiah told reporters in Mysuru.
The Congress stalwart charged Kumaraswamy with "hiding" his failure by blaming others. "How can I be an enemy? Those who don't know how to rule say such things," Siddaramaiah said.
The JD(S) leader had reportedly alleged that Siddaramaiah was never happy with the government formation under him. Kumaraswamy in a tweet said: "Some news channels have distorted my interview to a news portal a few days ago.
"I had only said that more than BJP, Siddaramaiah had targeted our party during the elections but I never said Siddaramaiah is my first enemy. There is no need for unwanted confusion," he said.
Almost a month after the fall of the coalition government, a political slugfest has broken out between Congress leader Siddaramaiah and the JD(S) first family led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda with each blaming the other for it.
Gowda in an interview to a newspaper on Thursday had held Siddaramaiah accountable for the fall of the government.
The JD(S) patriarch had termed as "wrong" the decision of Congress high command to make Kumaraswamy the Chief Minister without taking Siddaramaiah into confidence before forming the coalition government, saying the Congress strong man in the state was unable to accept it.
Siddaramaiah had rubbished the charge very next day, terming the allegations "baseless, politically motivated and false."
The Congress-JDS government collapsed on July 22 after the confidence motion moved by 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.
Siddaramaiah had come under criticism after the government collapsed as most of the rebel Congress MLAs, including S T Somashekar, Byrathi Basavaraj, M T B 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 alleged the unilateral style of functioning of the JDS leadership led to the collapse of the government.
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Good beginning, talks to proceed: Manipur CM on meeting with Kuki Zo Council delegation
Imphal (PTI): Manipur Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh on Sunday said his meeting with a Kuki Zo Council delegation was a "good beginning" at restoring peace in the state and rebuilding trust between Meiteis and Kukis.
A day after holding the closed-door meeting with the delegation in Guwahati, he told reporters here that "the talk between the Kuki Zo Council (KZC) and the state government for the first time in nearly three years is a really good thing".
"The talks will proceed," the chief minister said.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
The KZC, in a statement on Sunday, said the meeting commenced at 7 pm on Saturday and lasted around 1 hour and 45 minutes. The interaction was largely an ice-breaking session, it said.
Addressing the media on Sunday, the chief minister said, "In Manipur's situation, the most saddening part is that internally displaced persons (IDPs) are unable to return to their native homes..
"What is of utmost importance for their return is to rebuild the trust between the two communities. How long can central forces keep on guarding the population in some places? What is required is for the communities to forget the conflict and rebuild trust," Singh said.
Informing the reporters that the issue of IDPs of both sides returning to their places featured in the talks, the chief minister added that "at least we need to have a good beginning".
"I would like to thank the Kuki Zo Council for accepting the invitation for talks. We held the talks with the objective of bringing peace..
"My appeal to all is to restore peace and proceed with the concept of forgive and forget. My approach is bringing peace and building trust. There is no demand or commitment," Singh said.
Responding to media queries on the demand for a separate administration, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced that the territorial integrity of Manipur would remain intact.
As to the buffer zones terminology, Singh said, "There is no buffer zone for the government. During talks, I refer to it as a sensitive zone. Since there is no trust, security forces engage in checking at such sensitive zones..
He, however, asserted that "now is not the time for any kind of confrontation. If we want to bring peace, we must work honestly and more importantly, we must not focus on someone said this or someone said that".
The Kuki Zo Council, on the other hand, said that its delegation raised several key issues during the meeting in Guwahati on Saturday, all of which were attentively heard by the chief minister.
"Prominent among these (issues raised) were the urgent need to de-escalate the ongoing tensions between the Kuki and Tangkhul communities, and the imperative of ensuring justice for the victims of the conflict as a fundamental prerequisite for any meaningful peace and reconciliation process," it said.
The delegation also emphasised the importance of maintaining the sanctity of the buffer zone until a political settlement is reached and stressed the need to expedite a resolution to the ongoing Suspension of Operations talks to ensure durable and lasting peace in the region, the KZC statement said.
"The chief minister, in turn, shared his concerns, commitments, and the steps undertaken by his government in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur. He expressed high appreciation for the KZC's initiative and its bold step in engaging with him during this challenging period," it said.
