Leaked Video Out of Context, JD(S) Budget Not Needed: Siddaramaiah

A leaked video shows him purportedly saying – “The coalition government will not last beyond the general election.”

Deputy CM G Parameshwara (left) and former CM Siddaramaiah. 

(Photo: The Quint)

"I was misquoted,” said Siddaramaiah after a leaked video was circulated of him purportedly saying – “The coalition government will not last beyond the general election.”

“The government is stable,” the former Karnataka chief minister insists. Fresh from a naturopathy treatment in coastal Karnataka’s Ujire on Friday morning, Siddaramaiah made it back to Bengaluru in time for the Congress’ internal meeting to decide on a ‘Common Minimum Program’ (CMP). The document will ‘ensure’ that the promises made by the party in its pre-election manifesto will be accommodated in the coalition government’s budget.

Siddaramaiah along with senior Congress leader during the meeting on Friday. (Photo: Karnataka Congress)

Speaking to reporters outside Karnataka Congress party office, Siddaramaiah claimed that it was unethical to broadcast his casual conversations without context. “Who said I’m unhappy (with the coalition government)? You don’t know what I have said and in what context I have said it. Is it not unethical to shoot my candid conversation and show it without any context?” questioned Siddaramaiah.

The statement comes days after Siddaramaiah was heard saying that the JD(S) should not present a fresh budget, in the video. He said, as the Congress had brought the JD(S) to power, they should retain the previous government’s budget and present a supplementary budget to accommodate the projects of the JD(S). He also claimed that the coalition government won’t last beyond the general elections.

But on Friday, Siddaramaiah claimed that the coalition government was formed with a purpose and it will continue. “We have made a coalition government to keep the BJP, a communal party, out of power. The coalition government will be secure, there is no doubt about it. It is stable,” added Siddaramaiah.

Even though Siddaramaiah made statements in the favour of the coalition, according to sources, during the meeting he asked Congress leaders to take a firm stand during the decision-making. He insisted that all the schemes announced by the previous Congress government should be retained and the JD(S) should not be allowed to “bulldoze” over them.

He also expressed his displeasure over Kumaraswamy replacing bureaucrats appointed by the Congress government from important posts, many of whom belonged to ‘communities of the Congress’ interest’.

Following the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said that the future of the previous government’s programmes will be discussed in the coordination committee meeting scheduled for Friday evening.

During the last coordination meeting (of the coalition government), we had agreed that the programmes announced by the previous government should continue. There could be discussions on the future of some programmes, but as of now, we have decided that all the programmes should continue. 

G Parameshwara, Deputy Chief Minister 

Both leaders didn’t make any statements on the budget, however. HD Devegowda has announced that Kumaraswamy will present a fresh budget. Following the meeting on Friday evening, the coalition coordination committee will hold another meeting on Sunday (1 July), where the CMP is expected to be announced.