Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jul 20: "The JD(S) will never have any truck with the Congress in future. The downfall of the government led by me began because of internal issues which originated at Belagavi district Congress. No one came forward then to provide us support like a rock. We do not need any sympathy nor are we under anyone's debt," said former chief minister of Karnataka, H D Kumaraswamy.

He was interacting with the representative of a Kannada daily. He said that even in making H D Deve Gowda a Rajya Sabha member, his party did not get any favour. He pointed out that both the Congress and the BJP did not have enough members to get another candidate elected. He said that even when the Rajya Sabha election was round the corner, many Congress leaders insisted on fielding a second candidate, but they fell silent after Mallikarjun Kharge told them that he will back out from the election if a second candidate is fielded.

He said that the BJP leaders on their own said that the party would not field a third candidate. "Deve Gowda was not interested to go to Rajya Sabha, having been the Prime Minister once. But under our pressure, he agreed to contest," Kumaraswamy said. He also revealed that during the formation of the coalition government, state Congress leaders had not spoken to his party leaders. He said that the Congress leaders are now posing as if they favoured Deve Gowda, and analysed this to be an attempt to weaken the JD(S).

He disclosed that his government was unseated due to internal politics in Belagavi Congress. As many Congress leaders were unable to accept his return at the CM, Kumaraswamy said, they did not volunteer to stop his downfall. "Siddaramaiah was responsible in helping the BJP to get 105 seats in the last assembly election. He termed the JD(S) as the 'B' team of the BJP as a result of which the minorities went away from us," he reasoned.

Kumaraswamy said that he is disheartened at the way corona situation is handled by the current government. He said that he had made certain suggestions during the first week of April about arranging beds in private hospitals, doctors, and other facilities. "They ignored my advice and facing the consequences now," he said.

The former chief minister said he has no problem with B S Yediyurappa continuing as chief minister for the next three years.