Karnataka: HD Kumaraswamy claims government may fall soon, Chief Minister reacts

Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday claimed that all is not well in the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka as a state minister may join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The former Chief Minister of Karnataka also claimed that along with the minister, 50-60 Congress MLAs may also join the BJP.

"A (Congress) minister may join the BJP with the support of 50-60 Congress MLAs. The Karnataka government might fall soon. Anything can happen. No one has any honesty and loyalty left in them," HD Kumaraswamy told reporters in Karnataka's Hassan.

When asked to name the leader, Kumaraswamy said such an "audacious" act cannot be expected from small leaders and added that only "influential" people can do such things.

Reacting to the comments of Kumaraswamy, state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the BJP and JD(S) are in a state of illusion about his government's fall.

"BJP and JD(S) are struggling like fish out of water, they are in a state of illusion, what to do?" Siddaramaiah told reporters here in response to a question on Kumaraswamy's statement that the government will collapse.

Notably, the BJP and JD(S) have joined hands and struck an alliance in Karnataka to fight the ruling Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

This is not the first time that the Congress and the JD(S) are at loggerheads, last week, Kumaraswamy had accused Siddaramaiah of indulging in "appeasement politics" after the Chief Minister said the Karnataka government has increased the funds sanctioned for the minorities department.

Speaking at an event, Siddaramaiah said, "Each year, we consistently increase funds for the minorities department within our government. We have decided to allocate Rs 4,000 crore for the minorities department. The previous government reduced the funds allocated for minorities, but I have increased it again this year since our government came into power."

In response to this statement, JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy said that Siddaramaiah made "such statements everywhere he went" and "indulged in appeasement politics".

"He's always been making such kind of statements and there has been no development in the state for 6 months," the JD(S) leader added.

HD Kumaraswamy had also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the BJP swept the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls with huge margin.