JD(S)-Cong coalition govt will last 5 years, asserts K'taka Cong chief

In an apparent counter to senior party leader Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara today said the coalition government with the JD-S would complete its full five-year term and what others were talking outside was "irrelevant".

The remarks of Parameshwara, who is also the deputy chief minister, come a day after a video showing former chief minister Siddaramaiah purportedly expressing doubts about the longevity of the government emerged, adding to the strains in the coalition.

"It (government) will remain until parliamentary elections are over, after that, what all developments will happen (we will have to see)," Siddaramaiah had purportedly said in the video recorded at a naturopathy hospital "Shantivana" in Dharmasthala, where he is under treatment.

Speaking to reporters at Koppal, Parameshwara said, "As president (of State Congress) I am issuing this clarification that we have agreed to run this government for five years. What others are talking outside is irrelevant."
He said, "Outsiders talk in different way. For political reasons, they say that this government will run for only one year. Some say two years."