Kumaraswamy favours regional parties

Facing an uphill task of steering his party to victory in the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls, former Chief Minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader H D Kumaraswamy today appealed to people to emulate neighbouring Tamil Nadu by electing regional parties.

"Vote for regional parties, if not JD-S then any other, but not national parties who have ignored the state's development. This is my party slogan," Kumaraswamy, the lone star campaigner for JD-S, said.

Countering the campaign by Congress and BJP urging people to go for a stable government by electing them, Kumaraswamy asked "is stable government the only criteria? Should not development top the agenda of such governments?"

"Regional parties can certainly provide a stable government and focus on development too. In the last 20 months of my rule, I have proved this. Development programmes which were not initiated in the last 40 years were implemented in just 20 months," he said seeking to woo 4.07 crore electorate.

Particularly targeting Congress, Kumaraswamy said the national party, which had ruled the state for more than 40 years, was to be blamed for all the ills Karnataka faced today.

"Why did Congress not waive off farmers loans and provide loans to farmers at four per cent interest rate? For this JD-S had to come to power in the state," Kumaraswamy said.

He insisted that these programmes would be made the major poll issues by his party. The former chief minister also rejected that "allegations by BJP that JD-S betrayed it on power transfer" could become an issue in the polls, claiming "people have already forgotten it".

Referring to BJP's allegations of "betrayal" by his party, Kumaraswamy suggested he did not feel the saffron party's impression was shared by the people. Stating that he had visited almost all the assembly constituencies since last month, the JD-S leader said "Nowhere people queried me on power transfer."

Taking a dig at former Chief Minister and his successor B S Yeddyurappa, he said: "Yeddyurappa has some wish that he can encash on the 'betrayers' slogan. He claims people are still discussing it.

"In my opinion, it no longer remains an issue for people. It has become irrelevant. People of the state have not taken it seriously as BJP," Kumaraswamy said. Nevertheless, if BJP wants to whip up sentiments and derive benefits accusing JD-S as a party of betrayers, it could not succeed in influencing more than a minor section of voters, he claimed.

After refusing to honour power-sharing pact with BJP in October, JD-S had however, rushed back to the saffron party three weeks later and pledged unconditional support to its government, till it again pulled it back a week hence. "People are interested in getting their grievances redressed and other issues are secondary to them", Kumaraswamy said.

"During the 20-month long rule with my party, BJP leaders never extended cooperation and created hurdles for implementing development programmes," Kumaraswamy said making fresh charges against his coalition partner five months after the alliance broke up.

Kumaraswamy said he approved the controversial Kalasa Bandoori drinking water project due to pressure tactics of ministers from BJP, despite being fully aware that it could not take off as the NDA government has slapped a stay on it. Kalasa-Bandoori drinking water project has been envisaged for utilising Mahadayi river water, to which Goa has objections.

"BJP ministers insisted cabinet approval saying, we are not interested whether it can be implemented or not. We want it for publicity. Ultimately it ended up being only publicity and not in implementation," Kumaraswamy, who even boycotted the foundation laying ceremony, said.

BJP ministers lacked commitment for the project, he charged. Kumaraswamy said he was confident of JD-S forming a government of its own after the assembly polls and quipped: "I came into politics accidentally. I became the chief minister accidentally. My party will also come to power accidentally."

Kumaraswamy won the assembly election from Ramanagar in 2004 for the first time and went on to become the chief minister in 2006.

When his attention was drawn to the contrasting statement made by his father Deve Gowda that no political party can form the government without JD-S support, implying that the state will face another verdict for a hung assembly, Kumaraswamy said "my father's words have been misquoted.

"What my father meant is that JDS cannot be ignored in the coming elections. Congress and BJP are under illusion that they have already come to power," Kumaraswamy added.