Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah took a swipe at the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and asked him to reveal as to who prevented veteran Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge from being appointed the Chief Minister of the State.
His reaction came in the backdrop of Mr. Gowda’s remarks that he was prepared to support Mr. Kharge as the Chief Minister after the State elections in 2018 when the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) teamed to form a coalition government.
Mr. Gowda had stated in a press conference in Bengaluru that when the Congress approached the JD(S) to form a government, he had suggested the name of Mr. Kharge but instead they extended unconditional support to the JD(S) and H.D. Kumaraswamy became the Chief Minister.
In reply to these remarks, Mr. Siddaramaiah who was in Mysuru district to exercise his franchise in the gram panchayat polls on Sunday said it is for Mr. Gowda to reveal the name. “At least I did not oppose and it is for Mr. Deve Gowda to reveal as to who in the Congress opposed Mr. Kharge’s candidature,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah.
He also termed the proposed agitation for inclusion of Kurubas under the Scheduled Tribes as a “conspiracy” of the RSS to divide the community.
Questioning the need for a Kuruba convention scheduled to be held in Mysuru on December 29, Mr. Siddaramaiah said all the conveners are in the BJP and hence the onus was on them to get the ST status for the Kurubas based on a survey report. “What is the convention for and against whom are these leaders, including K.S. Eshwarappa, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, A.H. Vishwanath, MLC, and others, fighting when there is a BJP government in the State and the Centre?” he questioned. Earlier in the day, Mr. Vishwanath convened a press conference in the city and urged Mr. Siddaramaiah to participate in the convention of Kurubas of the region in Mysuru. He sought Mr. Siddaramaiah’s support on the grounds that the issue pertained to the community and its socio-economic empowerment.
