A day after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that he was at the 'mercy' of Congress and not the 6.5 crore people of Karnataka, opposition leader BS Yeddyurappa, on 28 May, demanded that he apologise for his statement.
I want to remind him that he took oath as the Chief Minister to serve the people of Karnataka not Congress party. He cannot work as the CM of Congress party. It is clear that Kumaraswamy is at the mercy of Congress.Yeddyurappa told ANI
Kumaraswamy had made the statement on Sunday, 27 May, in the context that his government had not received the full mandate which his party JD(S) had sought in the Assembly elections.
BJP Leaders Slam HDK
Rallying behind BS Yeddyurappa, several other BJP leaders too flayed the Chief Minister, saying that he was "deriding his own people" and doubted his credentials to serve them.
Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda took to Twitter asking Kumaraswamy if he would compromise the interests of Kannadigas just to retain power.
The party said that Kumaraswamy should not have "stooped" so low.
BJP MP Rajeev Chadrasekhar said it is the "worst kind" of Congress politics with willing and shameless regional parties.
BJP's IT cell chief chief Amit Malviya termed the chief minster's remarks as "the most brazen admission ever" and expressed apprehensions that Karnataka "will bleed" under the present state government "while JDS-Congress fill up their coffers".
At Mercy of Cong and Not 6.5 Cr People of Karnataka: Kumaraswamy
Meanwhile, HD Kumaraswamy had on Sunday reiterated that farm loan waiver was his priority as he had promised and he would resign if he failed to fulfill it, PTI reported.
However, he reminded people that JD(S) did not get an absolute majority, which meant he and his party were rejected by the electorate.
The people of the state rejected me and our party. I had sought an absolute majority. I have heard the statements of farm leaders too and how much they supported me. Mine is not an independent government. I had requested the people to give me a mandate that prevents me from succumbing to any pressure other than you. But today, I am at the mercy of the Congress. I am not under the pressure of the 6.5 crore people of the state.Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy
The chief minister said he has certain compulsions as a politician. However, he has complete clarity on the issue of farm loan waivers, he said.
Slamming BJP and other farmers' leaders, he said there was no need for any farmers' association to pressurise him (on farm loan waiver).
"I am one step ahead of you to work for the farmers. You need not have to ask me for my resignation over farm loan waiver. If I fail to fulfill my promises then I will resign from the post. Farm loan waiver is my priority. Can't you wait for a week? Even the cabinet has not been formed yet," he added.
Kumaraswamy urged farmers not to take the extreme step of committing suicide and to wait for a week as he was in the process of finding a way out to waive loans, not just of cooperative societies,but also nationalised banks.
His remarks came in the wake of BJP's call for a state-wide bandh on 28 May, demanding immediate waiver of farm loans, as promised by the JD(S) in their manifesto.
BJP state president had on 25 May announced a state-wide bandh on 28 May if farm loans worth Rs 53,000 crore were not waived by then.
JD(S) leadership has been saying they have to seek the consent of its coalition partner Congress before taking any decision.
To a question on the Congress demand that the finance portfolio be given to it, he said it was quite natural for them to ask it as some in the party believed they could deliver better.
He brushed aside talk of a tussle between the two coalition partners over distribution of portfolios.
(With PTI inputs)
(This story has been updated to reflect the reactions to the Karnataka CM’s statement)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)