Kolkata: As political drama in Karnataka continues to unfold, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy denied reports of any political crisis. The state was riddled with controversy after reports of the BJP trying to poach MLAs of the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition surfaced. After four Congress MLAs — Ramesh Jarkiholi, B Nagendra, Umesh Jadhav and Mahesh Kumatahalli — stayed away from the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting in Karnataka, rumours were abuzz that the BJP was trying to poach the MLAs.
When asked to comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that the entire Opposition has joined hands because they are scared and are shouting ‘bachao, bachao, bachao’ (save us), Kumaraswamy said: “Actually, he meant to say that it’s time to ‘bachao’ (save) the nation from him and the BJP.”
On Friday, PM Modi, during a tour of Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, had said, “One BJP legislator in Bengal is giving sleepless nights to them. They are scared and therefore the entire opposition joined hands and are shouting ‘bachao, bachao, bachao’.” He had added, “They are angry because of my actions against corruption and therefore they have formed an alliance. They are scared and restless.”
Speaking to News18, Kumaraswamy said, “There is no imminent threat to our government. The BJP tried to poach four MLAs, but I had a word with them on January 18. They promised to stay back. Nobody is going anywhere. They may have issues with the Congress leadership but personally they are close to me.”
Asked about the stability of the government in case the four MLAs join BJP, Kumaraswamy said, “The magic figure is 113. The BJP has 104 seats and they need to manage the support of nine more MLAs, which is not that easy. We are ready with our mathematics.”
Kumaraswamy, who attended West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s mega opposition rally in Kolkata on Saturday, also lauded her initiative to bring the anti-BJP front together. “Such steps are of utmost priority for us to prevent the BJP from indulging in undemocratic processes to destabilise a stable government,” he said.
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