Won't be surprised if JD(S) merges with BJP, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said it won't be surprising if JD(S), which is now in alliance with the BJP, merges with the saffron party in the days ahead.

Calling former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led party 'communal' following its alliance with the BJP, he urged Janata Dal (Secular), to remove the word 'Secular' from its name.

"There will be political polarisation and polarisation of votes in the country in the days to come, with communal forces on one side and seculars on the other. BJP will never come out of Hindutva and their plan of creating a Hindu Rashtra. Deve Gowda and family have joined them," Siddaramaiah said.

Addressing a party event here, he said, JD(S) is not a political party, it is a Deve Gowda and family party. "It's the party of a family."

"It won't be surprising if tomorrow JD(S) merges with the BJP...I somehow feel that it will remain as a separate political party until Deve Gowda is there and won't merge for political reasons, but after that it will merge," he said, adding that these days more than BJP, JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy is speaking against the Congress government.

The chief minister was speaking after inducting former JD(S) MLAs Gowri Shankar of Tumakuru Rural constituency and Dasarahalli's R Manjunath into Congress.

Claiming that more people from JD(S) will be joining Congress in the days ahead and, in case he reveals their names today, they might be pressured by JD(S) leadership, he said, "JD(S) MLAs were kept in a Hassan resort and were forced to undergo certain things. They might do black magic too...no one should fear such things."

Kumaraswamy was jealous of him and hence was spreading lies about him, Siddaramaiah said. "I got two chairs done from Leather Industries Development Corporation Ltd. of Karnataka (LIDKAR), for which the government pays. Kumaraswamy alleged someone brought it for me paying Rs 2 crore. Will two chairs cost Rs 2 crore? only lies..."

"Kumaraswamy is 99.99999 per cent of lies out of one hundred, he only speaks lies," he added.

Further calling the regional party 'communal', the chief minister said, "I won't call the Janata Dal -- 'S' (Secular), because after joining hands with BJP they have to remove 'S'. They don't have the eligibility to have 'S' with their party name, because they are no longer a secular party."

"The leaders have quit communal Janata Dal and have joined Secular Congress and I welcome them," he said.

Pointing out that he along with Gowri Shankar's father late C Chennigappa, a former minister, were earlier in JD(S) together, Siddaramaiah said, "When we were there, it was Janata Dal Secular."

"When we called them 'B' team of BJP, JD(S) leaders like Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy -- used to get angry, but they are now officially with BJP. What should we call them? Should we still call them JD(S)? They are now only Jananta Dal, if they themselves remove S -- Secular -- from their name it is good, if not people will remove," he added.

Noting that Janata Dal was divided into JD(S) and JD(U) in 1999 over the issue of joining hands with BJP, Siddaramaiah said, as he along with Deve Gowda and other leaders were against the decision of some party leaders to go with the BJP, and Janata Dal Secular (JD(S)) came into existence. "The other faction that came to be known as Janata Dal United (JD(U)) went with BJP."

"As long as I was there in the party I did not allow for any political links with BJP," he added.

Despite BJP and JD(S) joining hands, Congress will win the upcoming (Lok Sabha) elections, the CM claimed, "People are happy with our government and implementation of our guarantee schemes (pre-poll promises)."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that it was impossible to implement five guarantees and if done so, Karnataka will be bankrupt. "Mr Narendra Modi do you know the economy of this country? What is your party announcing in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh?," the chief minister asked.

Alleging that the PM has assured 'Modi/PM government guarantee' for implementation of some Centrally sponsored schemes in which state is also a contributor, he also hit out at the Central government criticising its 'Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra', a nationwide programme aimed at reaching out to citizens who are eligible for various Central schemes but have not benefited so far, as part of which specially designed IEC (Information, Education and Communication) vans have been flagged off.

"Today the Karnataka Governor has gone to Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajanahgara for this programme, but I have asked our officials not to attend."

"They (Centre) have written a letter to the Governor asking him to attend the event. The Governor did not want to go...as per protocol, the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police have to go. I said follow the protocol but we (state government) will not cooperate in any way including gathering people at Gram Panchayat,' he said, adding that it is being used for campaigning as 'PM's guarantees."

The Karnataka government is forced to oppose such a programme, as the state is not given credit despite its contribution in some of these Centrally sponsored schemes, Siddaramaiah said, adding, it is against the federal structure. "The PM has stopped to such a low."