Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday said the BJP leader and former Minister B. Sriramulu is unlikely to leave the party and join the Congress. “I believe it is just a speculation,” he told reporters here.
Accusing the Congress government of trying to destabilize the Opposition, Mr. Kumaraswamy, in response to a question that Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was reportedly keen to bring Mr. Sriramulu into the party fold taking advantage of the “tussle” between him and Mr. Janardhana Reddy, said he still believed the reports as speculative and the leader will remain with the BJP.
To a question that the Congress was also trying to bring the BJP MLAs into the party fold in addition to JD-S MLAs, he said the administration has collapsed in the State, and the government has done nothing in the last 18 months. “What else could it do?” he asked.
The government has no seriousness to address the problems faced by the people. Therefore it is trying to destabilize the Opposition through such means, he alleged.
Reacting to party MLA G.T. Deve Gowda’s challenge to suspend or dismiss him from the party, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, “He (Deve Gowda) is a significant figure. We will show our strength.”
Mr. Gowda, who has been at loggerheads with Mr. Kumaraswamy for the past several months and has not seen in the party meets and events, had said that the leadership in his party has no courage to act against him. “It required strength to act against leaders like him who have the people’s support,” the MLA said in Mysuru recently.
Published – January 24, 2025 06:39 pm IST
