Kumaraswamy slams BJP over GST hike, faces Congress backlash

“No matter what their mistakes, they (BJP) here (state) will justify it. They have made it a habit to tell 100 lies and make one truth,” JD (S) leader Kumaraswamy said.

Former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre over the hike in taxes, minutes after casting his ballot in the presidential election.

Former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre over the hike in taxes, minutes after casting his ballot in the presidential election. (AP)

“No matter what their mistakes, they (BJP) here (state) will justify it. They have made it a habit to tell 100 lies and make one truth,” Kumaraswamy said.

“Who uses milk? There are poor people making papads, packaging them and selling them. If you tax them under GST will it not inconvenience their lives? They start such businesses with ₹1,000 or ₹2,000 investments and such families will be impacted,” he added.

However, political analysts and Congress said that the JD(S) remains an opportunistic party, which believes it can survive only if it plays a dual role – one as secular and the other if it panders to the right whenever the need arises.

The JD(S) is the only party to have allied with both national parties, the BJP and Congress, at state and local levels, indicating how the former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy-led outfit is keeping all its options open in the run-up to the 2023 assembly elections.

On July 16, the JD(S) formally announced its support for National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.

This came over a month before the party asked Congress for support for the Rajya Sabha election on June 10, stating that all secular forces should come together to keep communal forces at bay.

The BJP managed to get three out of the seats in the Rajya Sabha as the Congress and JD (S) were unable to reach a consensus on the choice of candidates.

Siddaramaiah, the leader of the opposition and Congress legislature party leader, said on Mondaythat Droupadi Murmu was the BJP candidate, a former president of the saffron outfit’s Mahila Morcha and minister under their government. JD (S) had

“JD(S) calls themself secular and even went to the meeting convened by Mamata Bannerjee (West Bengal chief minister). Please ask Mr Deve Gowda,” Siddaramaiah said, taking a dig at the party.

ANY REACTION FROM BJP?

“JD (S) is trying to keep it safe. Their political survival in Karnataka depends on abusing all sides, except itself, for obvious reasons. Because they are looking at political oblivion in Karnataka and at the same time if they take these powers to head on, they will be an obvious repercussion to Kumaraswamy and the rest,” Vishwas Shetty, a Bengaluru-based political analyst, said.

He added that parties like the JD(S) keep more than one side to their ideology wherein they can abuse the powers they can to remain relevant to the voters and warm up to the ruling outfits to keep them safe from oblivion.

The JD(S) has lost at least five legislators in recent months to Congress and the BJP, shrinking its strength to just 32 in the 224-seat assembly.