Dissent between G T Devegowda, Kumaraswamy continues

The dissent between JD(S) leader, also former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and JD(S) MLA G T Devegowda came to the fore with Kumaraswamy expressing his unhappiness over the latter, here on Thursday.

Kumaraswamy, who is campaigning for Devarahalli Somashekar, the JD(S) candidate for Hunsur byelections, said that he will not contact G T Devegowda seeking his support for the party candidate. “I will not contact him. However, he is welcome to extend support on his own,” Kumaraswamy said.

Devegowda has distanced himself from the party activities and the leaders from the last few months. However, Devegowda had said that though he is in the party, he will not attend any events.

Devegowda, a prominent Vokkaliga leader in the region, defeated former chief minister Siddaramaiah by a margin of 35,000 votes from the Chamundeshwari Assembly segment in the 2018 Assembly election.

Alliance

Replying to a query, Kumaraswamy said that he does want to speak about any alliance. “Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has said that the BJP government will fall if the party fails to win eight seats out of 15, in the bypolls. Hence, I will not speak about the alliance, till the results are declared. Will take the right decision later,” Kumaraswamy said.

Speaking about Hirekerur JD(S) nominee Shivalinga Shivacharya, pontiff of Kabbinakanti mutt, withdrawing the papers, Kumaraswamy said, “I did not force Shivalinga Shivacharya to contest on JD(S) ticket. He himself demanded the B form,” Kumaraswamy said.

AHV meets GTD

BJP candidate A H Vishwanath, who met Devegowda seeking his support for the byelections a few days ago, said the latter has responded positively.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah who campaigned in Hunsur, said that he will speak to Devegowda seeking his support for the Congress candidate.

Attack on Sait

Speaking about the recent attack on Congress leader Tanveer Sait, Kumaraswamy said that it is not right to say that law and order has collapsed in the state. Similar incidents have been reported since BJP came to power in the state. The officials are not able to work independently due to pressure from the government, he alleged.