Bengaluru: A day after Kuruba strongman, Siddaramaiah took a U-turn over his desire to become Chief Minister once again, water resources minister, D. K. Shivakumar hit out at critics stating that the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government was not an ‘earthen pot’ which could be broken by anyone. He added that the coalition was forged based on certain values and ideologies and hence, those dreaming of breaking it, will be hugely disappointed.
Speaking to reporters at his palatial residence here, Mr Shivakumar said, “I will be the last one to pull the rug from beneath anyone’s feet. I stood like a rock behind our party leader Siddaramaiah for five years without a murmur. I will do the same with Mr Kumaraswamy as well. It is my party’s decision to forge an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) to keep communal forces at bay. I am a loyal soldier of the party and will stand by its decision at any cost.”
According to him, in politics there will be no dearth of naysayers. “Mr Siddaramaiah is a seasoned leader and has attained the stature of an elder statesman. He must have made the statement (on becoming chief minister again) only to keep party workers happy. No one is a saint in politics. Everyone will crave for positions and Mr Siddaramaiah too is a politician. We should not read too much into his statement,” he said cryptically and added that the former chief minister would be last leader who would want the coalition government to disintegrate and allow communal forces to come to power.
In response to a question, the minister maintained that he was not in the race for the coveted Chief Minister’s post for the next five years.
“After the completion of the five year tenure of the Kumarswamy government, party central leaders will decide who will lead the Congress in the state and who will be the CM candidate. All these reports are speculative in nature, there is no reason for anyone to panic or claim the post now,” he contended
The minister further argued that they (Congress and Janata Dal- Secular) have forged a post-poll alliance, which is legally and constitutionally correct.
“The BJP made its attempt to form the government even before forging an alliance which was not ethical,” he remarked.
