Regretting his party’s tie-up with the Congress to form a coalition government after the 2018 Assembly elections, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said he lost the goodwill he had earned during his first tenure as Chief Minister in the government formed with the support of the BJP.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) was “emotionally trapped” into a coalition with the Congress due to former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s commitment to secularism.
While he blamed former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and “his group” in the Congress for ruining the goodwill he had earned during his earlier tenure as Chief Minister, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had not suffered a betrayal to such an extent from the BJP. Accusing Mr. Siddaramaiah of conspiring to weaken the JD(S), Mr. Kumaraswamy recalled the “propaganda” carried out by the Congress leader during the run-up to the 2018 Assembly polls by referring to the JD(S) as the “B” team of the BJP “just to keep one community away from the party”.
It was this “propaganda” by Mr. Siddaramaiah that helped the BJP bag 105 seats in the elections. “Or else, the BJP would not have won more than 70 to 75 seats,” the JD(S) leader said.
To a charge that he was cosying up to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiyurappa, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he meets the Chief Minister openly unlike the “secret meetings” of Mr. Siddaramaiah. “Should I reveal whom he meets secretly?” the JD(S) leader threatened, but refused to reveal despite persistent questioning by the reporters. “It will be revealed when the time comes. The Congress leaders will themselves reveal it to you,” he said.
However, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had told the Yediyurappa government that his party will support any good work taken up by the government and added that he favoured the present BJP government to continue.