Kumaraswamy is not Lord Shiva: Why Congress-JDS should either get a grip or quit
On May 23 this year, Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy swore in the name of God to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as the chief minister of Karnataka.
What does the Constitution demand of a chief minister?
That s/he will serve the people of the state without fear or favour.
So, in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution, any chief minister who feels that there is an impediment in the way of discharging his duties should either get rid of that impediment or make way for someone more capable to take over.
Kumaraswamy seems to have somehow missed out on this point and is going ahead shedding copious tears in a desperate attempt to seek sympathy for not being able to do what is incumbent upon him as the chief minister of the state, and which he promised in the run-up to the Karnataka elections.
#WATCH: Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy breaks down at an event in Bengaluru; says 'You are standing with bouquets to wish me, as one of your brother became CM & you all are happy, but I'm not. I know the pain of coalition govt. I became Vishkanth&swallowed pain of this govt' (14.07) pic.twitter.com/cQ8f90KkFT
— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2018
Addressing a gathering of party workers and supporters on July 14, Kumaraswamy said, "You are standing with bouquets to wish me, as one of your brothers became CM and you all are happy, but I'm not... I know the pain of coalition government… I became Vishkanth (Lord Shiva) and swallowed the pain of this government."
Taking the high moral ground by implying that he was occupying the chief minister's chair as some sort of compulsion, comparing his situation with the mythical story of Lord Shiva drinking poison to save humanity from demons, Kumaraswamy kept wiping his incessant tears, explaining how difficult life had become because of being in an alliance with the Congress.
What seems to have triggered the emotional outpouring is Kumaraswamy's failure to negotiate with the Congress the terms of a full loan waiver for farmers. A complete loan waiver was among the poll promises of the party.
On July 5, Kumaraswamy announced a loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh for farmers who have defaulted on their farm loans and Rs 25,000 for those who have running accounts.
This is, however, not the first time that the chief minister has blamed coalition compulsion for failing to deliver.
Earlier too, Kumaraswamy had made surprising statements after becoming the chief minister, saying he was at the 'mercy' of the Congress and not the 6.5 crore people of Karnataka.
Last checked, nobody forced the JD(S) leader to enter a coalition with the Congress. It was a decision apparently taken by Kumaraswamy and his father, Deve Gowda, who also happens to be a former Prime Minister and chief minister of Karnataka.
The swiftness with which the JD(S) and Congress reached governor Vajubhai Vala staking claim to form the government as soon as the results were announced only showed the decision to form an alliance to check-mate BJP was taken even before people reached the polling booths on May 12.
Kumaraswamy should have faith in the administrative system of this country and clear the air over what or who exactly is forcing him to occupy the chief minister's office, compelling him to suffer such inexplicable agony.
But even as the chief minister fights his tears, it is important to look at the Congress' response to Kumaraswamy's meltdown.
Senior Congress leader and Karnataka Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge has only rubbed salt on the wounds of the chief minister, apparently inflicted by the Congress itself.
Kharge said, "You've to face problems. Simply expressing won't give a good message to people who supported secular parties. Kumaraswamy should be courageous to face such circumstances."
In short, Kharge has advised the chief minister to stop crying openly (maybe, crying in private would be okay) because it lifts the veil from the open secret that there is nothing in common to keep the JD(S) and Congress together, apart from a resolve to check the BJP's surge. The two parties caught in this alliance have named the rather convenient glue holding them together — 'secularism'.
It is an unfortunate time to be a Kannadiga. Two parties that promised to provide good governance are now openly saying that this is the sort of governance that people get when they are ruled by a coalition government.
What a complete travesty of the Constitution is at display in Karnataka.
Coalition governments are not choices made by people, these are arrangements thrust on them in the name of fancy ideologies that parties use only as crutches to grab power. If 'secularism' is so sacrosanct to the JD(S) and Congress, why can't they bury their differences and speak in one voice? A voice without any 'poison', at that?
Instead, in the name of secularism, the two parties are playing a murky game whose rules no one knows of. Just what kind of pressure is being exerted on Kumaraswamy that he has been repeatedly highlighting his helplessness in governing the state? What are the terms of these negotiations?
The Congress and JD(S) are not running a private enterprise. They are governing a state with crores of lives at stake. People need to know what 'problems' Kharge is asking Kumaraswamy to face.
If the parties are really finding it so difficult to work together, they should make way for some other party to govern — or a fresh election be held.
Going back to May 23, one cannot forget the images of Opposition unity that were flashed on television channels that day and newspapers the next day.
Kumaraswamy's tears now, and Kharge's stinging 'words of consolation' only prove how shaky the premise of this so-called 'secular' front is going to be in case it actually turns into a reality ahead of 2019's general election.