Opposition slams parleys; truce an interval, says R Ashoka

'A few days ago there was a breakfast meeting in Siddaramaiah’s house and today it was in D K Shivakumar’s residence. This scene is directed by Sonia Gandhi, the screenplay is by Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal has written the dialogues,' R Ashoka said.

Bengaluru: The opposition BJP on Tuesday slammed the second breakfast meeting between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar at the latter’s residence.

Addressing reporters during a news conference, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka said: “A few days ago there was a breakfast meeting in Siddaramaiah’s house and today it was in D K Shivakumar’s residence. This scene is directed by Sonia Gandhi, the screenplay is by Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal has written the dialogues.” 

The two breakfast meetings come at a time when D K Shivakumar has been trying to stake his claim to the chief minister’s position on the basis of an alleged “power-sharing agreement.”

Ashoka slammed the government, stating that it was ignoring issues such as the problem of pothole-ridden roads and farmers’ issues. 

Terming the breakfast meetings a “patch-up” from December 8-18 (when the winter session of the legislature will be held in Belagavi), he said: “This truce is just an interval. The fight within the Congress has become akin to the fights in the Bigg Boss reality show. G Parameshwara and Satish Jarkiholi are waiting for their turn as wildcards.”

Ashoka said the BJP-JD(S) combine would highlight the issues of North Karnataka during the session and target the ruling Congress based on Siddaramaiah’s commitment on the floor of the House.

Rajajinagar BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar felt the truce was “too fragile.” 

“Obviously, the ruling party has to marshal all its resources and wherewithal to face the onslaught of the vigilant and strident Opposition. Naturally, the treasury benches cannot afford to be divided – at least in the open in front of the Opposition. Hence, this truce brokered over a piece of chicken,” Kumar said.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), JD(S) state youth president Nikhil Kumaraswamy slammed the “breakfast diplomacy.” 

“Breakfast diplomacy on high command orders after @INCKarnataka’s poster chaos. In Karnataka, this cabinet has only one active ministry, the Ministry of Breakfast, while the rest remain on a permanent fast,” he said.