Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s position has become shaky because of the internal confusions in the ruling Congress as well as the non-performance of the government over the past year, former Chief Minister and BJP Lok Sabha member (Haveri) Basavaraj Bommai said on Tuesday.
Triggering instability while claiming everything was hunky dory was part of politics. This situation has now led to leaders openly expressing a desire to occupy the CM’s chair, the senior BJP leader told the media at Gadag, a major town in his Lok Sabha constituency.
The jostling among the Congress leaders had given the impression that the coveted post has become unstable. “While they claim everything is fine, internally there is political backstabbing,” Bommai said, referring to how some of the heavyweights in the Congress party were removed overnight. He gave the examples of the way the late leaders, Veerendra Patil, D Devaraj Urs, R Gundu Ro and S Bangarappa were shown the door despite being formidable leaders with a large following. This kind of politics would continue, he said.
The senior BJP leader declined to interpret senior Congress leader RV Deshpande’s statement that he also wished to take an aim at the CM’s post if Siddaramaiah was willing to pass on the mantle to him. “I do not know the reason behind his statement. But after his statement, there have been several reactions within Congress. The responses from Congress leaders are evidence that not everything is fine within the party.”
“This government has not performed for the past one year. People as well as the Congress MLAs are disillusioned. This is also one of the reasons for the perception among the people that the CM’s chair has become shaky,” Bommai said.
FINANCIAL DISTRESS:
The former CM warned that the state government was heading into a fiscal collapse owing to its dire financial situation due to mismanagement.
Bommai, who presented two budgets before chief minister Siddaramaiah, said the Congress regime had been able to manage the administration in the initial months after taking over last year because of the economic stability the BJP regime brought in. The days ahead, however, were not going to be rosy. In addition to the budgetary expenses, the government has implemented the seventh Pay Commission pay scales for the government employees, he said.
The wages for Anganwadi workers were being given once in four months. In the future, the government will struggle to pay even the salaries of government employees. I have been saying this from before and will repeat the same now, the BJP MP said.
