'HDK's statement out of fear that more JD(S) MLAs may jump ship to BJP': Siddu

Bengaluru: Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s recent statement that his party would not try to dislodge the ruling BJP government was out of ‘fear’ that more JD(S) legislators may jump ship to the saffron party.

The former Chief Minister also alleged that Yediyurappas audio clipping on rebel MLAs was leaked by someone within the BJP to defame the Chief Minister and make him resign.

“Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said he will not allow the BJP government to collapse. What else can we expect from JD(S)?

He might have said it out of fear that more JD(S) MLAs may join BJP. This is an expected political development, Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Kumaraswamy had recently said JD(S) would not try and dislodge the BJP government like the saffron party had done to his coalition government and opined that he did not think that mid-term polls would be held.

Hitting back, Kumaraswamy, without naming the Congress Legislature Party leader, said some people wanted to pull down the government out of “selfishness and greed” to become the Chief Minister.

“Some people with selfishness and greed to become Chief Minister are eager to pull down the government. It doesn’t matter to them even if it leads to wastage of public money.

Don’t forget that among those MLAs who quit the party and went, most of them are from your party (Congress).

Douse the fire in your house before going to douse the fire in your neighbour’s house,” Kumaraswamy tweeted.

The resignation and absence of 14 Congress and three JD (S) MLAs during the trust vote had lead to the collapse of the coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy and paved the way for the BJP to come to power in Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah in another tweet said Yediyurappas audio clipping on rebel MLAs was leaked by someone within the BJP to ‘defame the Chief Minister and make him resign.

“Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa should get a bad name and he should resign, this is the reason behind the audio leak.

People who don’t like Yediyurappa are in the BJP core committee that consists of senior leaders,” he tweeted.

A purported audio clip of Yediyurappa expressing anguish against his party leaders at a recent party meeting in Hubballi over their opposition to giving tickets to the disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs for the December 5 Assembly bypolls in 15 constituencies had surfaced last Friday.

In the audio, Yediyurappa is purportedly heard saying that the rebel Congress JD(S) MLAs, who were later disqualified, were kept in Mumbai during the final days of the coalition government under BJP national President Amit Shah’s watch.

BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel on Sunday charged Siddaramaiah of being behind the audio release as he desired to become the Chief Minister and was involved in such (audio) releases in the past.

Siddaramaiah, in another tweet, defended a video showing him purportedly predicting the collapse of the Kumaraswamy led coalition government and stated that he had neither said he would pull down the government nor asked anyone to do so.

One of our party workers had asked about giving the Chief Minister’s post to JD(S) despite having 80 MLAs to which I had said.. be patient till Lok Sabha election, after which we will sit and discuss.

I ever said that I will pull down the government. I have not attempted for it also, he tweeted.

A video of Siddaramaiah, who was under treatment at a nature cure centre, stating that the coalition government will not last long after the Lok Sabha polls, had gone viral a few days after the Kumaraswamy-led government had come to power.