Kumaraswamy created problems, considered me as enemy, says Siddaramaiah

Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Sunday accused former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy for the coalition government collapse in state. “HD Kumaraswamy never treated me as a friend or confidant, but instead considered me as an enemy and that led to all the problems,” news agency ANI quoted Siddaramaiah as saying.

Congress and JD(S) considered as arch rivals, especially in old Mysuru region, had bitterly fought against each other during the 2018 assembly polls, but joined hands after the elections threw up a hung verdict to keep BJP, the single largest party in the 225-member assembly, out of power.

The coalition government collapsed on July 22 after the confidence motion moved Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was defeated in the assembly, bringing to an end his 14-month long turbulent tenure marked by dissidence within the Congress. Raising a banner of rebellion, sixteen MLAs (13 from the Congress and 3 JDS) had resigned as legislators which culminated in the fall of the coalition government.

Siddaramaiah had come under criticism after the government collapsed as most of the rebel Congress MLAs, including ST Somashekar, Byrati Basavaraj, MTB Nagaraj, Munirathna and K Sudhakar, were considered his loyalists.

Earlier, JDS patriarch HD Deve Gowda indicated that the Congress-JDS coalition government collapsed because the national party's high command decided to make his son HD Kumaraswamy the chief minister without consulting its leader Siddaramaiah.

I have clearly said that without taking Siddaramaiah, who was Chief Minister for five years, into confidence, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi all of a sudden came and said Kumaraswamy is the next Chief Minister, it was their wrong decision, Gowda told reporters.