karnataka

Updated: Aug 06, 2019 12:42 IST

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has said he worked like a “slave” for its coalition partner Congress during the 14-month tenure of his government in Karnataka but his work was not appreciated by anyone.

The Kumaraswamy led Congress-Janata Dal(Secular) coalition government collapsed when it lost the trust vote on July 23. The trust vote was forced after 16 coalition MLAs rebelled and tendered their resignations. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s BS Yediyurappa was sworn-in as the 25th chief minister of Karnataka on July 26.

“I had given full freedom to all the MLAs, and even corporation chairmen. For the last 14 months, I worked like a slave for these MLAs and our coalition partner (Congress). Why they are blaming me? I don’t know,” Kumaraswamy said, according to news agency Asian News International.

“I’m the happiest person now after vacating the office as a chief minister. For 14 months, I worked for the development of the state, there is a little pain in my heart because nobody appreciated my work,” he said while speaking to ANI.

The JD(S) leader said that several Congress leaders didn’t want to form the coalition government.

“After the fractured verdict in our state, the Congress leadership wholeheartedly wanted to join hands with JD(S) and they wanted to form the government. But some local leaders were not interested according to my sources,” Kumaraswamy said.

“From day one, the way a section of the Congress leaders behaved and reacted in the public, everybody knows it,” he added.

Kumaraswamy said that his party leaders were also unhappy after he joined hands with the Congress to form the government.

“Even some of my party leaders were not happy, but I formed the government with the help of Congress. They were not happy with the system. They knew how will they going to backstab us,” he said.

The former chief minister also said that his government had allocated more money for the constituencies of Congress MLAs than those of his own party.

“Even when MLAs used to come without taking an appointment, I met them. Whatever requests they had for the development of their constituencies, I took decisions on them immediately,” he said.

“What the previous Congress government couldn’t achieve, I did in 14 months. I have allocated more than Rs 19,000 crore in 14 months to constituencies of Congress MLAs,” the JD(S) leader said.

Kumaraswamy said that his party’s leaders are not interested in forming a coalition with Congress in the future.

“Majority of the workers are not interested in the coalition. But the Congress high command even now is very much cooperative with us. Let us see what is going to happen in the future,” he said.