Kumaraswamy meets Shah, Nadda in Delhi, discusses seat sharing for LS polls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy has met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda in the national capital and discussed preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Kumaraswamy's son and JDS youth wing state president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, and former MP Kupendra Reddy were also present in the meeting held at Shah's residence in Delhi on Wednesday.
"The Home Minister and Nadda had a discussion with the JD(S) leaders for more than 45 minutes on state politics, seat sharing and the issue of alliance," Kumaraswamy said in a statement.
The former chief minister had said Shah told him that he would discuss the process of JD(S) officially joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and seat allocation after the completion of the consecration of Rama temple in Ayodhya in the presence of Nadda.
The leaders were unanimous that the NDA should win all the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state and Narendra Modi should once again become the PM.
Shah and Nadda told Kumaraswamy that BJP and JD(S) should take all the decisions to face the election on the basis of trust and faith.
Noting that there is a "strong anti-incumbency wave" against the Congress government in Karnataka within a year of it coming to power, Kumaraswamy said they discussed ways to effectively bring the failures of the state government to the attention of the people.
The JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year after a meeting Kumaraswamy had with Shah and Nadda in New Delhi.
Both parties have said they would fight the coming general elections in Karnataka together.
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Governor address row: Minister H.K. Patil says Governor must apologise to people of state
Bengaluru: Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H. K. Patil on Friday accused Governor Thawarchand Gehlot of disrespecting the Legislature by not reading the Cabinet-approved address in full during the joint session, and said the Governor owed an apology to the people of the state.
Replying to a discussion in the Legislative Assembly on the controversy surrounding the Governor’s address, Patil rejected attempts by the BJP to draw parallels between the recent developments and earlier incidents in the House. He recalled that BJP legislators had once created disorder in the Assembly by tearing papers, confronting the Speaker at the Chair and disrupting proceedings, following which 18 MLAs were suspended. “Trying to justify yesterday’s events by comparing them with that incident is not acceptable,” he said.
Patil underlined that it was part of democratic convention for an elected government to present its policies through the Governor’s address. “The government does not draft the address to please the Governor. The speech contained 122 paragraphs and did not include any personal attacks on anyone,” he clarified.
During the debate, BJP member Suresh Kumar referred to the tenure of former Governor Hansraj Bharadwaj and alleged interference by the then central government. Responding, Patil said discomfort was natural when facts were stated. He added that the Constitution clearly defined the Governor’s responsibilities and that there were several Supreme Court and High Court judgments on the issue. “If we consider constitutional provisions, judicial rulings, statements made by the Union Home Minister in Parliament and established conventions relating to the President’s address, it is clear that the Governor violated constitutional norms in yesterday’s incident,” Patil asserted.
He also pointed out that opposition leaders who raised the issue had not named anyone responsible for allegedly insulting the Governor. While Legislative Council member B.K. Hariprasad’s name had been mentioned, Patil said no discussion or action could be taken in the Assembly as he was not a member of the House.
Dismissing allegations of disrespect, Patil said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with Cabinet colleagues, had personally escorted the Governor, greeted him and seen him off courteously. “At no point was the Governor insulted,” he said.
On his earlier remark that the Governor had “walked out” of the session, Patil said he stood by his statement. He explained that when the Governor was leaving, the Chief Minister had gestured for him to follow, and he had moved quickly in that direction. “Perhaps opposition members misunderstood this,” he added.
