Father didn’t want CM job for me, says HD Kumaraswamy

BENGALURU: Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said it was Congress which insisted that he should head the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in Karnataka.

Kumaraswamy said his father HD Deve Gowda had told Congress leaders to keep the CM post when they approached him after election results were announced. However, they (Congress leaders) insisted that Kumaraswamy should become the CM and run the government, he said.

“My father told Congress leaders that I have undergone heart surgery twice and I’m not in good health. He even asked them to have a Congress CM. But they were unrelenting and made me CM,” Kumaraswamy said.

“I wanted to share my fears of running the government because of middlemen in Vidhana Soudha. I heard about the menace of middlemen who seek Rs 10 crore for transfers of officials. Sometimes, I’m scared to think of running the government under these conditions. I expressed my concerns to my father. That’s when my father shared the conversation he had with Congress leaders,” he said after meeting Deve Gowda on Monday.

The CM said he had no ambition other than to work for the welfare of the people. “I don’t want to make money or don’t aspire for anything. I don’t know how long I’ll live. Now, that I have accepted the offer, I’ll run the government and ensure good governance,” he said.

He said he’s determined to fight corruption in government offices in a phased manner. “It’s difficult to weed out corruption at one go. If I embark on such an exercise, I’ll lose my post,” he added.