Arrogance will prove costly for Congress: HD Kumaraswamy

The JD(S) on Monday mounted an aggressive attack on former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah as the feud between him and the regional party’s leader HD Kumaraswamy has escalated ahead of the November 3 bypolls.

The fresh trigger for the feud was Siddaramaiah’s scathing remarks against the JD(S) on Sunday during the induction of over 90 people from Sira. Siddaramaiah said the JD(S) was not a political party.

“One leader who flourished and became deputy CM in the JD(S) has now spoken lightly about the JD(S). Having lured JD(S) people for lack of candidates in the bypolls, is your party a political party,” Kumaraswamy asked.

“Is Congress that feeds off of its own friends, has been rejected by people and hustles with other parties, a political party anymore? If the Congress continues with its arrogance, then there’s no doubt that it will lose ground in Karnataka as well,” Kumaraswamy said.

On Sunday, Siddaramaiah mocked the JD(S) saying the regional party would never come to power on its own. “They’ll always ride on someone else’s horse,” he said.

Referring to Kumaraswamy’s recent emotional appeal with the people of Sira, Siddaramaiah said: “The drama isn’t new. Even HD Deve Gowda was doing that. Politics is about serving people, and not about asking votes by saying you’d die otherwise.”

To this, Kumaraswamy said Congress was in dire straits. “In how many states is the Congress in power on its own strength? Who is riding on someone else’s shoulder and where? Will the leader who has tasted the salt of JD(S) answer these questions,” Kumaraswamy asked.

“In the 2018 elections, this great leader who swore on fathers was defeated by people. He kept saying that ‘that party’ won’t come to power, and people showed him the importance of swearing. In the upcoming bypolls, people will teach him a lesson. Let’s wait,” Kumaraswamy said.