BS Yeddyurappa, HD Kumaraswamy meet: Keeping friends close, enemies closer?

BENGALURU: There are no permanent friends or foes in politics-and two former chief ministers B S Yeddyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy proved precisely that-as they met in Hubballi on Tuesday and vowed to put up a joint fight against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as both leaders could be in big trouble with cases of denotification of land returning to haunt them.

The Lingayat strongman and the Vokkaliga leader reached out to each other at the circuit house in Hubballi, spoke of the likely impact of Lokayukta police filing FIRs against the former following a probe by CID based on a report of the CAG, and vowed to meet again in Bengaluru after the monsoon session of legislature to work out a strategy against Mr Siddaramaiah.

Mr. Yeddyurappa, who sent word to Mr Kumaraswamy through JD (S) MLA N.H. Konareddy, thanked the JD (S) leader for demonstrating his support at a time when none of his party colleagues have spoken out against the increasing number of FIRs. “You are brave enough to faces these cases, so do not panic about the political vendetta unleashed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah”, Mr. Kumaraswamy told Yeddyurappa.

The JD (S) leader, however downplayed this significant meeting as a “courtesy call.”