BENGALURU: A teary-eyed HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday said while his partymen are happy that their “Anna or Thamma” (brother) has become chief minister, he’s not happy with the present situation of heading a coalition government which lacks the mandate of the people.

At an event organised by the JD(S) to felicitate him for becoming the CM, Kumaraswamy declined to accept bouquets and garlands, and said: “While you may be happy thinking that your Anna or Thamma has become the chief minister, let me tell you that I’m not. I’m swallowing my pain, which is nothing more than poison (of being the

), without sharing it. I’m not happy with the situation.”

Upset with social media posts

The immediate trigger for Kumaraswamy’s emotional speech was “Kumaraswamy is not my CM” statements in social media — a Kodagu boy’s video stated that roads in the district have been washed away but the CM is not worried, and fishermen from coastal districts too voiced their anger against the chief minister for failing to waive their loans.

“For the last one month, nobody knows the jugglery I’ve been doing to convince officials to agree to the loan waiver. Now, they want 7kg rice instead of 5kg rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme. From where should I get Rs 2,500 crore for this? I’m being criticised for levying taxes. After all this, media says there’s no clarity in my loan waiver scheme. If I wish, within two hours I can step down from the office,’’ Kumaraswamy said.

The CM said his fate was that wherever he went during elections, people gathered to hear him, but when it came to vote, they forgot him and his party candidates. “God has given me this power (to become CM). He’ll decide how many days I should stay," he added.

“My craving to become CM of the state was for no other reason but to do good for the people of this state. It was my dream to fulfil my party’s commitment and complete the unfinished agenda of my father

. It was not for grabbing power. However,

(winning only 37 seats) suggest that somewhere people do not have confidence in me,” he pointed out.

JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda said he’s worried about his son who’s working for 18 hours a day without rest when his health is not in a good condition.

Gowda referred to the Rs 4,000-crore repayment liability from the

government where farmer loans up to Rs 50,000 crore were waived. He also hinted at the government’s plan to extend loan waiver facility to Stree Shakti groups.