Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday cleared the air regarding a rift between JD(S) and BJP, claiming the alliance is solid and united.
Speaking to the media in Mandya, former Karnataka Chief Minister rejected rumors of disagreement, saying, "The JD(S)-BJP coalition is strong. There's no confusion. Even senior BJP leader D.V. Sadananda Gowda has demanded a coordination committee."
Responding to BJP's continuation of Janakrosha protest against the Karnataka Congress government, Kumaraswamy made it clear that the protest is a party event within. "They are trying to organize their organisation better. It's not on account of the alliance. Both parties are busy in their respective agenda," he told.
But the minister also took the opportunity to make a vitriolic counterattack against Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy, who is a former JD(S) leader now with the Congress. In response to Cheluvarayaswamy's statement that he was the one who made Kumaraswamy the Chief Minister, the JD(S) leader termed the assertion "the biggest joke." He added, "It was the MLAs who rallied behind me, not him. Did they gather behind his face or mine?"
Kumaraswamy, who was visibly moved, accused the Congress minister of spreading false information and offered to take an oath at Dharmasthala to establish his honesty. "When I became CM, he would call me till 3 a.m. for ministerial positions. I know what I did for him," Kumaraswamy claimed, adding that Cheluvarayaswamy's personal behavior was a hot topic of discussion in Mandya.
In a sharply personal attack, he stated, "I don't have the tastes he has. Ask the people of Mandya, they know what kind of taste he has. I know how many families he has hurt." The Union Minister added, however, that such debates were distasteful and finally irrelevant to the issues that mattered to the people.
Everybody makes mistakes. I have apologized for my own errors in the Assembly. However, I never compromised people's trust. Let us concentrate on serving the people," he finalized.
The lacerating confrontation underscores the chill in the once warm relations of Kumaraswamy and his former close sidekick Cheluvarayaswamy, one-time member of the JD(S) inner team but who revolted against Kumaraswamy and joined Congress, subsequently attaining a berth in the cabinet.
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