Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy in conversation with Deccan Herald

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was in conversation with Deccan Herald.

On Ola cabs drivers earning less and promise made through Namma TYGR

I have not said that I will run a cab company. We told them to start a cab company and promised to support them.

I have held meetings with KSTDC officials and told them to find out ways to support the drivers' community.

On fiscal condition of the state

Fiscal deficit has been maintained below 3%.We are at 2.65%.

Compared to other states, we are in a good position. Despite all the problems, we are doing good in terms of fiscal health.

There has been no compromise on development.

A project approved by Bangarappa in 1991 is still not taking off.The cost of the project of Rs 30 crore has nowgone up to Rs 195 crore.

But I approved it.

Our emphasis is on development.

On KPTCL recruitment notice not giving primacy to Kannada

We have taken enough steps to ensure interest of Kannadigas. Earlier, outsiders used to pass exam, get job and then learn kannada. Now, they can't get through without passing Kananda language.

Passing Kannada exam is must for getting a job in the state.

On right to education (RTE)

We want to streamline policies regarding health and education. We have requested Azim Premji Foundation to help us in this regard.

RTE has become a money making tool.

On elevated corridor

It is true that there is opposition. But isn't metro also an elevated corridor? I was the one who brought the then PM to lay foundation stone for metro project.

There was opposition to elevated metro as well.

For us, the importance is to finish projects in time.

Elevated corridor will not lead to more cars. Elevated corridor is for public transport.

Today, the air pollution in the city is affecting our health.We need solutions to reduce traffic jam in the city.

At the end of the day, the projects should benefit the public.

Will NDA come to power again?

No. Even if BJP wins 240, smaller parties will not support them considering how they are treating regional leaders.

NDA will not come to power for any reason.

In Mandya, it is alleged that Kumaraswamy failed to take friends into confidence..

The cremation of Ambareesh was not over. The fire of the funeral pyre was not yet over. There were many calculations made.

On rumours that Gowda family is close to contractors

DH and Prajavani have exposed how engineers have become fixers and how much money is exchanged for transfers. I am not associated with any contractors.

In the last 9 months, no work has been awarded, no decision has been taken to get commission from contractors.

I have given a free hand to ACB and Lokayukta. I have not misused those institutions (to raid BJP leaders).

On IT raids

It is the job of the IT department to check disproportionate assets. But 68 raids in a day targeting Mandya and Hassan.

It is a conspiracy to bring down Deve Gowda family. I had given a statement on Friday.

It worked as a pre-emptive statement. It prevented them from making more raids on MLCs and others.

I said that Amit Shah was behind this. But I-T officials are giving clarifications. Why should I-T officials give clarificatoins for criticising Amit Shah?

Why did't they take help of state police?

Why did they bring CRPF? Everywhere it is state police who assist I-T department.

On rumours that Deve Gowda has made Prajwal second in command.

That is not true. It is a leader's capability. It depends on how Prajwal emerges as the leader.

On rumours of cold war between HDK and Revanna

There is no such thing. We are brothers.

We have not made this decision. Deve Gowda gave a commitment to Prajwal to make him MP from Hassan.

Deve Gowda did not want to contest. But he is doing it because of pressure from party workers and family.

Q:You have said that actors are not conected to grassroots, but JD(S) fielded your own son.

Becasue Nikhil is not an actor. He comes from a political family. His roots are in politics.

But you had said that Nikhil will focus on films

Yes, my personal view is that he should be an actor. But the party workers have forced him to contest.

Hasn't JD(S) hurted women?

It is true that Revanna made a remark. But it was the electronic media which provoked him.

The electronic media asked him 'Ambareesh has passed away recently, don't you think sumalatha contesting is wrong?'

Revanna did not know he was going to be trapped. He just answered a question.

Why Mandya is hitting headlines everyday? Why is it a bitterly fought poll?

Because a section of politicians, media have made it like that. I am not bothered about Mandya.

Though BJP claims that Sumalatha is leading because of their support, I know the reality and I am not worried (about my son's prospects).

We have not snubbed any leader. We have only considerd a previous demand by local legislators that Nikhil should contest.

The electronic media is making Mandya issue a drama though there is no such thing.Shivaramegowda himself decided that Nikhil is more suitable for Mandya than himself.

For me, it is the party that is more important, not the family.

On the audio-gate

I have not set up an SIT because they will term even the SIT as a politial gimmick.

On dynastic politics

Today, dyanistic politics has lost its meaning. All political parties have it today. Congress and BJP are both practicising it.

But I believe that regional parties have survived because of dyanistic politics. What would have happened to DMK. What about SP.

Today, if somebody has to fight Nitish Kumar in Bihar who has joined BJP, it is Lalu family.

Now, the third son of Yeddyurappa will also enter the politics. At present he is busy carrying money to Mumbai for destablising our government. He will enter politics soon.

Q: What if Cong decides to sit in opposition in Karnataka?

Let us not speculate on that. Congress leaders have vouched in front of Rahul Gandhi that Kumaraswamy will continue for five years. There is no question of threat to government.

My govt will complete five-year term: HDK

On state government set up post-LS poll

There are many people making several guesses. But I am confident that, regardless of rumours, our government will stay strong.

This government will stay strong for the full five years.

Q: You had described Yettinahole as 'Hanada HOle' [scam]. Now supporting it.

A: It is true that there are problems in the project. I can't speak about them now. If I discuss about it now, it will lead to different theorisations

On criticism over water crisis

People should realise that it was Deve Gowda who brought water through Hemavathi. Many who don't know the history and criticise Deve Gowda.

Yettinahole helps bring water for three months during monsoon.

I have ideas to solve some of the water issues with neighbouring states.

I can't speak about them during the polls.

Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Chitradurga districts need water.

But water borads have already been setup to regulate utilisation of rivers.

Farmers are not aware of it. So they are demanding water for second crop.

There are some projects where money is wasted. It is true. My concern is that such things should not happen in my regime.

On allegations that Siddramaiah is remote controlling:

Siddramaiah is a senior leader. He has worked with Deve Gowda. I don't have so much experience like him. There is no such thing as he being super-CM. We consult him and take his advice.

On not giving position to Basavaraj Horatti:We couldn't give him aposition due to prevailing conditions

On criticising Siddaramaiah-led Congress earlier and now embracing Congress and promoting to make a Dalit CM

Becoming a CM is not my choice. It was the Congress which requested that I be CM.

Q:In demanding more seats, dont you think JD(S) bit more than it can chew?

A: No. In Kolar and Chikkaballapur, we left the seats for Conogress though we had good supports. We asked them to give only those seats where BJP has remained unshakable.

Siddramaiahhas clarified on Tumkur seat. He only said that Congress would like to retain Mysuru and he offered Tumkur.

We don't have support in coastal areas, but we wanted a coalition candidate to represent us. So we have fielded Pramod Madhwaraj.

Q: You said Rs 46000 crore loan will be waived. But officials are saying it will be reduced to Rs 18000 crore.

A: That is not true. There was confusion over loans in nationalised banks. At the same time, there were many bogus claims.We have issued guidelines to prevent misuse of farmers' names. They will reduce the amount by Rs 3000 crore.

How many farmers benefitted from loan waiver?

Since the announcemnt, Rs 6500 crore has been distributed among farmers.

The electon commission has told us to stop it. But the PM's Kisan Samman Yojana which gives Rs 2000 to farmers, gets a green signal from EC.

Though the Karnataka uploaded names of thousands of farmers for the central scheme (Kisan Samman), the Union government selected 17 people.Of the 17 people, only 6 got the aid.

Though Karnataka gave many BJP MPs, the aid the state received was less: HDK

BJP can't get 270 seats: HDK

Modiknows that BJP can't come to power on its own. He has to depend on the regional parties to form the government.

I want to tell the people: "Dont be under the impression that Modi will come to power on his own."

They have to depend on smaller parties when they fall short of 15 to 20 numbers.

The Centre has failed to do justice to several states.

Being a PM of the country, Modi speaks of political rivals as 'Sarab': HDK

As people, don't clap for such comments, don't support such rhetoric.Narendra Modi derides the opposition unity. But does he have the confidence to come to power on his own? If he has, then why go for alliance in Tamil Nadu and BIhar. THere are similar arrangements in other states.

I would like to tell the people of the state that this election is very important: HDK

Today, you have to decide whether you want a government that only makes announcements or a government that implements what it promises.

The prime minister of India is taking credit for hard work done by the scientists (referring to DRDO's Shankti programme) and soldiers.

The Prajamata and Janamata series run by Prajavani are bringing out some of the best news stories.

Prajavani and Deccan Herald have always worked on reducing the distance between governance and people: H D Kumaraswamy

I have been a reeader of Prajavani and Deccan Herald from my childhood.

The contents of the papers, which have a history of over 50 years, has remained special. Despite a sea of change in journalism, they have maintained the quality of content.

Many doyens in the field of journalism have worked in these two papers.

They cover the state affairs without taking sides. That's why they are special.

WATCH | Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy in conversation with Deccan Herald

HDK - Kingmaker of Karnataka politics

Fifty-nine-year-old Haradanahalli Deve Gowda Kumaraswamy became the 25th chief minister of Karnataka with the support of the Congress party.

Born to Channamma and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda in Haradanahalli in Holenarasipura taluk of Hassan district, Kumaraswamy is popularly known as ‘Kumaranna’ by his party workers and followers.

Kumaraswamy made his foray into politics by getting elected as a Lok Sabha member from the erstwhile Kanakapura seat in 1996.

His first love was, however, films. As a producer, distributor and exhibitor, Kumaraswamy has given many hits, including ‘Chandra Chakori’ and ‘Surya Vamsha’, under the banner Channambike Films.

After tasting victory in electoral politics at the age of 37, Kumaraswamy, however, faced three subsequent defeats.

He contested unsuccessfully as a Janata Dal candidate from the Kanakapura Lok Sabha seat (1998 and 1999), and from the Sathanur Assembly segment (1999).

While Kumaraswamy has been elected as MP twice -- from Kanakapura (1996) and Bengaluru Rural (2009); he has been elected as an MLA four times -- from Ramanagara (2004, 2008, 2013, 2018), and from Channapatna (2018).

He became a force to reckon with in Karnataka politics after he won the Assembly elections from Ramanagara in 2004. His strategic political moves in 2006 earned him the name ‘kingmaker’. Kumaraswamy was instrumental in toppling the Congress-JD(S) coalition formed in 2004, and entered into a coalition with the BJP in 2006.

Having inked an agreement to share power, the two parties formed a government, which is popularly known as the ‘20:20’ government. By ascending the seat of power first (on February 3, 2006), Kumaraswamy became Karnataka’s 18th chief minister.

In the 20 months as chief minister, Kumaraswamy had popularised his ‘grama vastavya’ and ‘janata darshan’ programmes. Kumaraswamy, however, scripted his own downfall by dishonouring the commitment he had made to the BJP. He resigned from his post on November 2, 2007.

Despite his two heart surgeries (2007 and September 2017), Kumaraswamy toured the entire state ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections in a bid to bring his party to power. His son Nikhil Gowda is a party candidate from the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency.