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Karnataka minister congratulates HDK for being ‘appointed’ loP
Karnataka minister and Congress leader MB Patil on Monday mocked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for delaying the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly by “congratulating” JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy for “being appointed in the role”
Karnataka minister and Congress leader MB Patil on Monday mocked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for delaying the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly by “congratulating” JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy for “being appointed in the role”.
Karnataka industries minister Patil, a prominent Lingayat leader, also urged senior BJP leader and former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to join the Congress, alleging that his party is attempting to sideline him by nominating Kumaraswamy as the LoP in the legislative assembly.
In a tweet, Patil congratulated HD Kumaraswamy on his anticipated role as the LoP.
Patil advised his fellow community member Bommai to follow in the footsteps of former chief minister Jagadish Shettar. “Congratulations to the soon-to-be LoP, @hd_kumaraswamy (HD Kumaraswamy). The @BJP4Karnataka (Karnataka BJP) seems to have finally decided to make @BSBommai (Basavaraj Bommai) redundant,” he tweeted.
“@BSBommai will face the same fate in the BJP as @JagadishShettar (Jagadish Shetter) & @BSYBJP (BS Yediyurappa). It’s a House of Cards that’s Collapsing. I urge @BSBommai to consider joining the Congress. If he is aligned with the secular ideology of Senior Bommai, the Congress high command could consider,” he added.
In the absence of the LoP, JD (S) leader Kumaraswamy has been unofficially performing the role by being vocal on several ‘guarantee’ schemes of the Congress and accusing Siddaramaiah’s son of being a ‘shadow CM’.
A senior BJP leader also said that there have been discussions within the party to offer the post of LoP to the JD(S).
Lately, the BJP and JD(S) leaders are sending signals of an alliance between the two parties for the Lok Sabha elections due in 2024.
In both houses of the legislature, the BJP and JD(S) have backed each other on various issues since Congress came to power in the state in May this year.
Last week, while speaking at the Governor’s address, Kumaraswamy demanded a probe into the ‘PayCM’ charge alleged by the Congress against the then BJP government, claiming there was no proof for it. Meanwhile, Bommai had raised the issue of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) driver’s attempted suicide case in the house, which was raised by Kumaraswamy outside the house.
Responding to the speculations about his appointment as Leader of the Opposition, Kumaraswamy stated that he has requested the BJP high command to appoint a senior leader from their party for the position.
“I have asked the BJP high command to appoint a senior leader from the party as the leader of the Opposition. There have been no talks from my party’s side on the matter, neither have we made any demands for the post,” he said.
He clarified that there have been no discussions or demands from his party regarding the matter. “My party has won 19 seats, and they (BJP) have won 65 seats. There are several qualified candidates there (BJP legislative party), including former chief ministers and ministers. It is better to choose someone from there,” he said when asked about his decision if offered the post.
Can we get a response from the BJP?