Cong-JD(S) govt is stable, says Siddaramaiah

A day after Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara directed the Congress leaders, including all its ministers, to toe the party line, former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday made a U-turn and asserted his support to the Congress-JD(S) coalition.

Two of Siddaramaiah’s videos released earlier this week, in which he is heard frowning over Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s plan to table a full-fledged budget and questioning the longevity of the coalition, resulted in turbulence while indicating that he was unhappy.

“I have nothing to do with it,” he said when asked about the footage. He said it was just casual, locker-room talk. “Whoever it may be, to record a casual conversation and make it public out of context, is it not unethical? Nobody knows the context in which I spoke,” he said.

In one of the videos, Siddaramaiah is seen conversing with unidentified persons who are not seen. One of them opines that the government will not last five years.

To that, Siddaramaiah responds: “Hmmm...five years? Let’s see what happens after the Parliamentary elections. They’ll be there until the Parliamentary elections. But who knows what developments will happen after the Parliamentary polls.”

This contradicted the Congress’ stand that the coalition will complete a full five-year term.

However, Siddaramaiah reiterated his support for the coalition.

“Who told you I’m unhappy,” he asked reporters. “We’ve come together for a coalition to keep the communal BJP away. Let there be no doubt that this coalition will remain secure and stable.”

The videos were followed by at least a dozen Congress legislators, including two legislators, huddling with Siddaramaiah while he was rejuvenating in Ujire.

All this left the Congress worried as well as embarrassed. Parameshwara, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, brought all of the party’s Cabinet ministers together on Thursday and asked them not to publicly discuss Siddaramaiah’s comments.