Journalism for Vertebrates®
Bengaluru, July 21: Nine letters in 45 days led to tears rolling down Karnataka Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy’s cheeks. Siddaramaiah, who heads the coordination committee has been dashing off one letter after another, which led to Kumaraswamy not only crying, but also saying that he is drinking poison everyday to run the JD(S)-Congress coalition government.
A letter written in the month of March 2018 by a top cop in Karnataka pointed towards political interference in the functioning of the police. The letter dashed off by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Rajvir Pratap Sharma, just ahead of the Karnataka elections urged the Chief Secretary to convene a meeting of all Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to discuss threadbare and evolve a strategy for the conduct of a free and fair election.
Bengaluru, July 3: A key hurdle was cleared and Karnataka’s ruling coalition agreed on a Common Minimum Programme. The CMP was finalised at the coordination committee meeting of the Congress and JD(S) and it was decided that the farm loan waiver would go through.
Bengaluru, June 30: The growing disillusionment within the Congress has got the BJP in overdrive mode in Karnataka. The fresh round of dissent was caused by none other than former Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah and the BJP hopes that he would rock the boat.
The problems for the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) alliance in Karnataka seem to be never-ending. After a showdown over the allocation of portfolios, the two parties sparred on whether to present a full budget or an interim one. There were differences over the issue of farm loan waiver too, which the Congress did not seem to be in agreement with.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah may look like the villain of the Karnataka coalition, but the fact is that the Congress cannot ignore him. In veiled threats, several Congress leaders have dismissed the former CM’s statements on the longevity of the coalition, but behind the scenes all efforts are on to pacify him.
The rumblings in the JD(S)-Congress coalition are getting louder and do not seem to subside. The Congress high command has stepped in and asked the state unit to ensure stability of the government. Go to the coordination committee, not the media, the high command has advised.
The developments or trouble as we may call it do not seem to end in Karnataka. With just a few days remaining for the budget to be presented, there is speculation rife that attempts are being made to pull down the four week old Karnataka government led by Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy.
In a bid to tackle its coalition partner in Karnataka, the Congress is set to replace K C Venugopal with Ghulam Nabi Azad. Venugopal, the general secretary of the party is also in charge of the party’s affairs in Karnataka.
The Congress added one more to its kitty and ironically for the BJP, it was yet another seat from Bengaluru, considered to be its bastion. The Congress took its Bengaluru tally to 15 with back to back wins in Rajarajeswhari Nagar and Jayanagar.
