By Express News Service
BENGALURU: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said he did not have the same independence to take decisions, which he would have, had JD(S) formed the government on its own. He was speaking at an event to lay the foundation stone of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) Centre of Excellence and Innovation here on Monday.
The Centre will be set up on a 4.5-acre plot at the Dobbspet industrial cluster. Facilities will include an international exhibition centre, an international marketing centre and an R&D testing centre.
Kumaraswamy said he became CM by God’s grace, though the people had “forgotten his party” while casting their votes. Indicating that the government is here to stay, he said this coalition government was different from the JD(S)-Congress government of 2004.
“Everyone is in a hurry to get their work done, as they want to do it in the time I am in power,” he said, evoking laughter from the audience. On criticism for delay in waiving farm loans, Kumaraswamy defended himself and said he had agreed to waive farm loans within 24 hours if JD(S) had been elected to power.
“No one understands my position. Had we formed government independently, I would have made my own decisions. I also have to consider the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2004. The state has been preparing surplus budgets for the past 8-10 years, so I do not want to do that,” he said.
He added that the state was mulling to implement zero budget natural farming on the lines of Andhra Pradesh. Referring to the speech of KASSIA President R Hanumanthe Gowda, who had urged him to address their demands during his tenure, Kumaraswamy jokingly asked whether Gowda was referring to his own tenure.
