Bengaluru: After the simmering feud in the Karnataka Congress spilled out into the open as Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and state Congress president D K Shivakumar both announced their willingness to become the chief minister if the party is voted to power, the ruling BJP has taken potshots at the Congress.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai ridiculed the developments in the state Congress on Wednesday and stated that instead of noticing what is wrong in their party, the Congress leaders are making light comments about the ruling BJP.
'Shivakumar is not allowed to work efficiently by his own party leaders. There is internal strife within the Congress party. They can't talk about us (BJP)' he stated. He slammed Shivakumar for calling him a remote control CM.
Bommai said that in the Congress party, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are on different sides.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had both stated that they are not sages and they are in the race for the Chief Minister's post. Siddaramaiah's followers have time and again referred to him as the next CM to the chagrin of Shivakumar and his camp.
Siddaramaiah expressed his desire to become the CM again recently by stating that there is nothing wrong in aspiring for the post. Following this, Shivakumar also made his wishes clear on a public platform.
Shivakumar had appealed to the dominant Vokkaliga community to back his candidature for the post of CM. He stated that the community should support him like they supported former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy.
However, H D Kumaraswamy stated that even if the Congress comes to power, it is doubtful that Shivakumar will be made the Chief Minister. The infighting within the Congress has given a boost to the ruling BJP in Karnataka.
The ruling party had suffered a dent in its image after PM Modi's visit as the newly built substandard roads caved in and developed cracks. The incident had happened within a couple of days after Modi's visit and it became national news causing severe embarrassment to the BJP.
Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah jointly launched a scathing attack on the BJP for corruption. However, since both the leaders seem to have locked horns now, the BJP has heaved a sigh of relief and is consolidating its position in the state. —IANS