Efforts are on to topple my government: Kumaraswamy

BENGALURU: A day after former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah said he aspires to become CM again, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday said there is a conspiracy to topple his government.
“I am aware of the conspiracies to destabilise my government. However, I won’t try to save my seat, but focus on doing good work,” Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

Siddaramaiah’s remark that he’d like to have another stint as CM triggered speculation in political circles of him looking to make a comeback by toppling the Kumaraswamy government.

‘Will become CM only if people bless me’

However, Siddaramaiah in Mysuru cleared the air on Saturday, saying what he meant was he’d become the chief minister only if people bless him in the next assembly polls, which he claimed would be held after five years.

Without taking Siddaramaiah’s name, Kumaraswamy said he learnt from the media that someone is ready to become the chief minister and that the BJP is predicting a new CM would be sworn in on September 3. “Undoubtedly, efforts are on to destabilise the government, but they won’t succeed. Soon I will be completing 100 days in office and look forward to giving good governance,” he added.

Taunting Siddaramaiah, his bete-noire and JD(S) state president A H Vishwanath in Mysuru said: “If Siddaramaiah becomes CM again, I will be the happiest person. But I am curious to know from which party or with whose support he’d become the chief minister.”

The BJP is reportedly making intense efforts to poach legislators from the ruling Congress-JD(S) combine and topple the present government. “We are clearly running short of numbers. Only 10-12 MLAs have expressed their willingness to resign on certain conditions, but we need at least 17. Negotiations were cut short after former PM AB Vajpayee’s death. Now, they are expected to resume only after urban local body polls on August 29,” BJP sources said.