Two days after a video clip where he is seen speaking disapprovingly of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s decision to present a full-fledged budget surfaced, the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is in the news again, with another video clip in which he expresses doubts about the longevity of the coalition government beyond the next Lok Sabha elections doing the rounds on Tuesday.
In the second video clip (which appears to have been shot with a hidden camera), Mr. Siddaramaiah, who heads the coordination committee of the coalition partners, is seen saying that the Congress–JD(S) government would surely last till the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and its future after that would “depend on the political circumstances”. In the same video, he is also heard saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not come to power again if a united opposition fights against him.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who is receiving naturopathy treatment at SDM Yoga and Nature Cure Hospital at Dharmasthala, had earlier expressed his dissatisfaction over the new government choosing to table a full budget and argued that a supplementary budget would suffice.
‘Not aware of it’
While stating that he was not aware of the video clip or its contents, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara reiterated that the government would complete five years. Dr. Parameshwara, who called on the former Chief Minister at Dharmasthala couple of days ago, asserted that there were no differences in the coalition set-up and that if Mr. Siddaramaiah had any differences, he would inform him since he was the State Congress president and Deputy Chief Minister.
Reacting to the Mr. Siddaramaiah’s comments, JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda said AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal would look into issues raised by the former Chief Minister and ensure smooth functioning of the government.
On Monday, Mr. Kumaraswamy criticised Mr. Siddaramaiah’s comments on farm loan waiver and presenting the budget, and said, “I will not behave arrogantly. I want smooth running of the administration and governance.”
