Kumaraswamy dares Siddaramaiah to contest as independent and win

JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Monday challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to contest the Assembly elections as an independent and win to prove his claim about personal charisma.

Speaking to reporters after inducting former minister Anand Asnotikar who quit the BJP into the JD(S), Kumaraswamy said Siddaramaiah, in his early days, grew politically due to the support of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.

"He is surviving today because of the Congress. Personally, he has no political base or strength, but claims to command enormous public appeal and charisma. Let him prove his claim by contesting without a Congress ticket and win the election," challenged Kumaraswamy.

Kumaraswamy rubbished Siddaramaiah's charge that he (Kumaraswamy) was a "political opportunist".

"It is the Congress and BJP which approached me for support. I have never knocked on the doors of either the Congress or the BJP". He said there will be a lot of political developments in the coming weeks which will reveal the strength of the JD(S).

Speaking on the occasion, Gowda said Siddaramaiah had become inevitable to the Congress due to dearth of leaders. He said the JD(S) would come to power on its own after the elections.

Gowda said he had performed the Satharudra Yajna at Sringeri Shankara Mutt in Chikkamagaluru district recently not to defeat his political opponents as claimed by the Congress. "The yajna was conducted for the welfare of the people of the state," he said.

Taking a potshot at BJP's Hindutva plank, Gowda said, "Tolerance is the philosophy of Hindusim. But if you are intolerant to other religions, what sort of Hindutva are you practising?"