Bengaluru: With letter hurdles of former chief minister Siddaramaiah stacking up against Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, the latter's father and JD (S) patriarch Deve Gowda reportedly networked with several top Congress leaders to restrain the Kuruba strongman in the interest of the coalition government.
Mr Gowda, who camped in New Delhi with the convenient ruse of attending ongoing session of parliament, complained about the abrasive nature of Mr Siddaramaiah to all leaders and explained how the former chief minister was placing one hurdle after another for the coalition government. The leaders Mr Gowda met include Congress president Mr Rahul Gandhi, his mother and former party president Mr Sonia Gandhi, and Mr Ahmed Patel. He reportedly said Mr Siddaramaiah kept writing letters embarrass the government, and used his camp followers to issue statements purportedly to put the government in the dock. This, Mr Gowda complained, had rendered the coalition government vulnerable and as a result, the government did not get the kind of appreciation it deserved.
Both Mr Patel and Mrs Gandhi were categorical while responding to Mr Gowda’s complaints. They promised him that they would look into the issues seriously and ensure that till next year's Lok Sabha elections, none would create any problem for the coalition government.
Mr Siddaramaiah, however, had the last laugh. The upshot: his camp followers could continue to embarrass the coalition and the government. For instance, food and civil supplies minister, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan and Mr Kumaraswamy. Mr Zameer Ahmed Khan reportedly decided not to reduce the quantity of food grains being given to BPL families under Anna Bhagya scheme. Mr Kumaraswamy proposed to reduce the quantum of food grains to five kg instead of seven kg for BPL card holders and even announced they would receive five kg for unit while Mr Khan wanted to retain the earlier arrangement of giving five kg foodgrains. Mr Kumaraswamy being the chief minister who proposed reduction, wants to plough back the funds to farm waiver scheme. This could enrage Mr Siddaramaiah who might indulge in arm twisting through different methods, sources in the JD (S) said.
