Kumaraswamy was never at peace as Karnataka CM, cried for 15 minutes, says an 'emotional' Deve Gowda

Days after the fall of the Congress-JDS government in Karnataka, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda on Sunday opened up about the drastic collapse of the ruling coalition, saying his son and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy was never at peace while serving the state.

Addressing the party workers, the JDS patriarch said, "I have no issues with the JDS-Congress government losing power. My son was never peaceful as the CM and I know he had cried for 15 minutes sitting in JP Bhavan".

However, this is not first such incident when Gowda family broke down on dais during a public event. It has been a common feature of the father-son duo when in power. In July 2018, both Gowda and Kumaraswamy became emotional, when the latter blamed the BJP of creating distrust and suspicion about the government’s programmes among the people.

READ | 'Baseless': HD Kumaraswamy on reports of JDS extending support to BJP

On Tuesday, ahead of the crucial trust vote in Karnataka Assembly, Kumaraswamy compared himself to mythological figure 'Vishakanta'- for he swallowed all pains inflicted by the alliance in the state.

Disturbed over the ongoing political crisis in the state, the then chief minister further said he was ready to "sacrifice" his post happily and he has no greed to remain in power. "I am ready to happily sacrifice this position," the JDS chief said as the assembly debated the confidence motion for four days. He also said he had no intention to drag the trust vote and added, "I apologise to the Speaker and the people of the state".

Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP chief Yediyurappa, who assumed the office of Chief Minister on Friday is all set to seek the trust vote on Monday, apparently confident of winning it, following the disqualification of the 16 rebel Congress JDS MLAs as the member of Assembly till the end of term in 2023.

READ | JDS chief HD Deve Gowda rules out support to Yediyurappa-led BJP government

Karnataka Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar on Sunday disqualified 14 more Congress-JDS rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law, taking the total tally of disqualified legislators to 17. The effective strength of the 224-member assembly excluding the Speaker, who has a casting vote in case of a tie, is 207. The magic figure required will be 104.

BJP, along with the support of one independent, has 106 members, Congress 66 (including nominated), JDS 34 and one BSP member, who has been expelled by the party for not voting for the Kumaraswamy government during the trust vote.