Siddaramaiah has no moral right to talk about family politics, says HDK

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday reacted sharply to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s reported remarks on family politics involving former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s family, and said the Chief Minister did not have any moral authority to speak on the issue.

After Mr Siddaramaiah’s elder son died prematurely, which is unfortunate, Mr. Kumaraswamy questioned why his younger son, a doctor, was pushed into politics — whether it was for public service or otherwise.

‘Political dealings’

Fielding queries from reporters in Pandavapura, near here, the Union Minister alleged that Mr. Siddaramaiah’s son was engaged in “political dealings” instead of addressing people’s problems.

He pointed out that Deputy Chief Minister’s family members too were in politics. Similiarly, there were several families with two or three family members being legislators.

In contrast to other political families, Mr. Kumaraswamy claimed Mr. Gowda had not encouraged his family members to enter politics. He claimed that the former Prime Minister had even opposed his decision to contest his first Lok Sabha election and had, after the fractured mandate in the 2018 Assembly polls, suggested that the Congress appoint senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge as Chief Minister instead of him.

‘Permanent CM’

Speaking on the tenure of Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Kumaraswamy claimed that the Chief Minister intends to continue in the post “permanently”.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said Mr. Siddaramaiah is not looking to continue as Chief Minister merely till the remainder of the present term, but is aiming to return to the post even after the next Assembly elections in 2028.

Referring to Mr. Siddaramaiah’s recent statement that he will remain in politics till his last breath, the JD(S) leader recalled Mr. Siddaramaiah’s reported statement in the Legislature that he would quit electoral politics after the 2013 Assembly elections. “After experiencing power, he now wants to remain Chief Minister permanently,” Mr Kumaraswamy remarked.

He said the results of the ensuing bypolls in Davangere South and Bagalkot Assembly constituencies would go either way as per the media reports, but the people’s opinion on the Congress government will be known only during the next Assembly elections.