HD Kumaraswamy recalls conversation with PM Modi in 2018, ‘Had I listened to him...’

HD Kumaraswamy on the floor of the Karnataka Assembly today (July 14) revealed he made a ‘mistake’ by not listening to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. He said the PM had a long conversation in 2018 when he was the chief minister of the state in alliance with the Congress. JDS leader Kumaraswamy further added that he would have continued to remain the CM in 2018 if he would have agreed to PM Modi’s contention.

The top JDS leader claimed that the PM spoke to him for 1.5 hours but he chose to remain loyal to the Congress which was a mistake. It’s important to recall after the 2018 Assembly polls in Karnataka the JDS formed the government in coalition with the Congress under the leadership of Kumaraswamy. However, the alliance didn’t last long, and the government collapsed in 2019, just about a year after its formation. 

‘He wasn’t a small boy that...’: Congress 

Congress responding to Kumaraswamy’s statement said it’s good the grand old party is not politically associated with him. “It’s good that we know the real truth and we are away from him. He was not a small boy that we could pull asking him to join us,” said Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad. BJP avoided commenting on Kumaraswamy’s remark and said, “He has said a lot of things on the floor. I have not witnessed these talks and I don’t know what discussion took place between them. So, don’t want to comment on that,” said BJP state VP Vijayendra. 

The previous Assembly polls were held in May 2018, in which the government was formed by a coalition of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress, with HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister. In 2019, in a dramatic turn of events, the government collapsed as several MLAs of the grand old party Congress and JD(S) resigned from the Assembly. Subsequently, BJP formed the government with BS Yediyurappa as Chief Minister. However, he resigned on July 26, 2021, and Basavaraj Bommai took over as CM on July 28, 2021.