The former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who triggered speculation in political and media circles by expressing his desire to become Chief Minister again, has refused to react to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s comments on the bid to destabilise the coalition government headed by him.
At a press conference in Mysuru on Sunday, when reporters brought the Chief Minister’s comments to his notice, Mr. Siddaramaiah not only refused to react to it, but also denied having any knowledge of Mr. Kumaraswamy’s statement. It may be mentioned here that Mr. Kumaraswamy, a day after Mr. Siddaramaiah publicly aspired to return as Chief Minister, had claimed that he was aware of the conspiracies to topple his government.
But, Mr. Siddaramaiah on Sunday sought to clarify that his statement on making a comeback was an “aspiration” of the people.
While participating in a programme at Holenarsipur on Friday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the people came to him with petitions and he assured them that he would resolve them when the Congress government comes to power after the next elections. “The people said you should become the Chief Minister and I said yes to them. It is the aspiration of people that I should become the Chief Minister,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
He said his desire to return as Chief Minister was made in the context of the Congress returning to power in the Assembly elections to be held after the present government’s term concludes.
Debt Relief Bill
Mr. Siddaramaiah also sought to clarify that the Congress had also agreed to the Debt Relief Bill, 2018 that seeks to give relief to people indebted to moneylenders. The Bill was part of the common minimum programme (CMP) of the coalition partners — the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular).
Coordination panel meet
When asked for reasons behind the coordination committee of the coalition government failing to hold a meeting, Mr. Siddaramaiah, who is the chairman of the committee, said the meeting had been delayed on account of Parliament session and other reasons. He said a meeting would be convened soon.
