Siddaramaiah prevented Dalits from becoming the CM, charges H D Kumaraswamy

It was Siddaramaiah who stopped Dalits from occupying the chief minister’s chair in the state, said former CM and Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy on Monday.

Congress veterans such as AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Home Minister G Parameshwara ought to have become the CM a long time ago, said Kumaraswamy. “But Kharge was packed off to New Delhi, while Parameshwara’s loss in the Assembly elections was engineered in 2013 when he was the Karnataka Congress president. A Dalit could have been the CM of the state much earlier. Why has it not happened even after 75 years,” asked the Union Minister.

Queried about his meeting with Parameshwara, Kumaraswamy said, “It was a personal meeting. Nothing even remotely political was discussed during the meeting.”

We did not stab anyone in the back, said Kumaraswamy. “But Siddaramaiah left our party when he tried to stab former prime minister
H D Deve Gowda in the back,” said Kumaraswamy, claiming that Siddaramaiah remained mentally imbalanced till date.

Accusing Siddaramaiah of desperately trying to save his chair, Kumaraswamy added, “Did I incite members of my Vokkaliga community into a riot? I never tried to save my chair by brandishing the caste card.”