Kumaraswamy ‘chief manager’ of Congress’ Karnataka ATM: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday took a dig at Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy over his ‘mercy’ remark, saying he was the “chief manager (CM)” of the Congress’s ATM in the state.

“The Congress has found a new manager for its ATM in Karnataka. We can say this after his (Kumaraswamy’s) statement. People are asking who is their chief minister,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters.

The BJP’s attack came after Kumaraswamy’s statement on Sunday that he was the chief minister of Karnataka at the “mercy” of the Congress as people of the state didn’t give him full mandate, which he had sought in the recent Assembly elections.

“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,” the Karnataka CM said.

Reacting to his statement, the BJP spokesperson said that it was the saddest thing that Kumaraswamy was lying prostrate at the feet of Gandhi family.

“Kumaraswamy is lying prostrate at the feet of one family. Nothing can be sadder than this. This is absolutely demeaning to the democratic fabric of the country and akin to an abuse of India’s democracy,” Patra said.

On being asked about the Opposition’s unity against the BJP ahead of 2019 general elections, the BJP leader said that no one would accept Congress president Rahul Gandhi as the leader of an anti-BJP coalition.

(With inputs from agencies)