Union Minister Arun Jaitley. (Express Photo)
Citing Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s public statements over troubled ties with the Congress, Union Minister Arun Jaitley has said that a federal front is a “failed idea”, as coalitions for a country as large as India should have a stable nucleus.
“To rule a large country like India through coalitions is possible but the nucleus of a coalition has to be stable,” Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post. “It must have a large size, an ideologically defined position and a vested interest in honest governance. A federal front is a failed idea.”
The senior BJP leader’s comments come in the midst of opposition parties making attempts to cobble up a coalition against the BJP for the next General Election.
Jailtey also wrote that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly demonstrated the advantages of a decisive leadership. “India’s Prime Minister and his Government has to overcome the challenges that India faces today. He cannot be seen like the CM of Karnataka as a tragedy king. If such a coalition is a cup of poison, why even dream of inflicting it on the nation? The leader of the world’s fastest growing economy cannot be a ‘Bechara’,” he wrote.
He stated that in the last few days, “we witnessed” Kumaraswamy baring his emotions with tears, wetting his eyes, and declining to accept bouquets and garlands. “Listening to these statements of an Honourable Chief Minister, my memory took me back to the dialogues of the tragedy era of Hindi cinema,” he wrote.
Indicating a strain in ties with the Congress, Kumaraswamy recently said he is “not happy” as the Karnataka Chief Minister.
Jaitley wrote: “The country has been watching with keen interest the developments in Karnataka in the past two months. It is a repeat of what the Congress did to Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandrasekhar, H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral? …The basis of the negative agenda is ‘Keep Modi Out’.”
He maintained, “A strong nation and the requirements of good governance abhor anarchy. The political agenda for the debate this year appropriately will be Prime Minister Modi versus an anarchist combination..”
M J Akbar, MoS (External Affairs), also joined the issue with a write-up, ‘The Tears of Bangalore’, in which he said the “poison” Kumaraswamy had mentioned was his alliance with Congress. “The poison was his alliance with Congress, which had given him the chair but had taken away his dignity…” Akbar wrote.