Karnataka CM''s position has become weak, says BJP's Ashoka

Chitradurga, NT Bureau: Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Tuesday said the position of the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has become weak and the lifespan of the Congress government led by him is coming to an end. The BJP leader said repeated assertions of Siddaramaiah that he would continue as CM suggest that his position is no longer strong, raising questions about the stability of the Government, which assumed power in May last year. "....D K Shivakumar (Deputy CM) is claiming during the Channapatna by-poll campaigning that he will become the Chief Minister. What is the guarantee that the Congress party will be there (in power).

Last time also during the JD(S)-Congress coalition government they (Congress) had claimed no one can shake them for five years, but 14 MLAs quit Congress (resulting in the govt collapse)," Ashoka said. Speaking to reporters here, he claimed that Congress MLAs themselves have not got a single paisa for development in the last 17 months. "They have started thinking that if they are with Siddaramaiah, they will not even get peanuts." Recently, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra too had claimed that the Chief Minister, facing probe in the MUDA site allotment case, will resign soon. Both Shivakumar and Congress national President M Mallikarjun Kharge are also aware as to when Siddaramaiah will quit, he had said. Ashoka said speculations regarding the stability of any government should have arisen in normal course during the fag end of its tenure. "But, this government has just come, and already every day there are claimants for the Chief Minister seat, there are allegations of corruption, there are prophecies that the government will collapse. Despite all this, Siddaramaiah is saying that he will remain the CM,'" he said.

Citing that Siddaramaiah has on numerous occasions asserted that he will remain the CM, Ashoka, a former Deputy Chief Minister, said: "What is the need for it? If strong, no one will keep on saying it (I will remain CM), only when weak, one has to keep on asserting his position." "If strong, no one will question (the stability of the government), neither the media, nor opposition. As his (Siddaramaiah) position is weak, everyone keeps asking about stability. The life span of Siddaramaiah's government is coming to an end," he added. The opposition has been demanding Siddaramaiah's resignation, following charges against him in the MUDA site allotment case. There were also behind-the-scenes political activities within the ruling Congress earlier this year, with a few Ministers in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet holding closed door meetings, fueling speculation about leadership change. But such interactions came to a halt following instructions from the party high command, which sought to crack the whip.