Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah was in a combat mode on Friday as he took on his political rivals not just in the BJP and the JD(S) but even within his own party, the Congress.
“(Former chief minister) Kumaraswamy lost power as he was a ‘hotel giraki’ (hotel guest) and worked out of (Taj) Westend hotel and was not accessible to the MLAs at office or home,” mocked Siddaramaiah. He also alleged that the JD(S)-Congress coalition collapsed due to Kumaraswamy's "style of functioning".
Addressing the "Jana Adhikara" rally ahead of the gram panchayat polls in Mysuru, the Congress leader said, "Previously, I was the chief minister for a full term of five years. None of the MLAs had an issue with my style of governance. If he (Kumaraswamy) had treated the MLAs well, the BJP would not have been ruling the state today. But he is wrongly accusing me of having toppled his government. Kumaraswamy could not have become the CM if I had opposed it."
Recalling his humiliating defeat in Chamundeshwari constituency in the May 2018 elections, Siddaramaiah said, "It was not just the JD(S)-BJP secret pact that led to my defeat. Some of my own partymen hatched a conspiracy to defeat me. They did not want me to get a second term as the CM. For some frivolous reason, they betrayed the party. The party is always above the individuals. If someone had an issue with the leadership, they were free to quit the party. No one is indispensable in the party," said the Kuruba strongman, who took on KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar and his proximity to fellow Vokkaliga, Kumaraswamy during the coalition government.
"Have I been jailed? Have I played caste-based politics ever? But I was defeated by people who grudged my stint as the CM and wanted to deny me a second term."
"I never imagined I would be defeated in Chamundeshwari, my home turf. It had given me political rebirth in the past, but it also gave me a lot of pain in the form of defeat. If I had not managed to win the Badami seat, it would have been the end of my political career. If I had not won, what would have been the fate of the people of the state?," asked Siddaramaiah.
Shivakumar, who is on a tour in Belagavi, hit back saying, "Siddaramaiah has made a general statement. He should name the person who was against him. We all wanted him to be the CM for the second time. In fact, I had addressed election rally in Hunsur, mentioning it. He had the blessings of all the leaders including Rahul Gandhi. If not, would the party have allowed him to contest from two seats?"
"Chamundeshwari has been both his janmabhoomi and Karmabhoomi and we expected he would win by a huge margin," taunted Shivakumar.
Meanwhile, turning his ire against the BJP and Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa, Siddaramaiah said, "The BJP fielded a gram panchayat member, a defeated candidate, against me in Chamundeshwari seat as it had a secret pact with the JD(S) to defeat me. No CM has completed a full term in office. So, all are jealous of me."
Kumaraswamy rubbished Siddaramaiah's claims, saying, "I was made the chief minister by the Congress party. But during the 14-month period, the Congress leaders behaved so badly. I had given enough funds to the rebels MLAs, who later decided to quit. It is clear who behaved badly."
Terming the BJP government as "corrupt", Siddaramaiah said, "No transfers happen without taking a bribe. Yediyurappa used to take money through cheque and now his son Vijayendra takes money through RTGS. He has taken a bribe of Rs 7.40 crore."