‘Loot, extortion, fencing scams not part of my experience’: Kumaraswamy to Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Hitting back at Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar for stating that Janata Dal(Secular) party will merge into Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and claims of having more experience than him, Union Minister for Large Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy stated that loot, extortion and fencing scams are not part of his experience.
Taking to social media X, Kumaraswamy stated on Friday, “Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, please set aside worries about our merger. Let us talk about my and your administrative experience. I served as Chief Minister for two short terms, as Leader of the Opposition for a brief period, and am now a Union Minister.”
“You, too, have been an MLA for a long period, a minister several times, and are now a minister and Deputy Chief Minister. It is not for you or me to speak about our administrative experience; the people should judge that. Loot, extortion, fencing scams, square-foot calculations, commissions, fixing, and forcibly extracting money are not part of my experience, Mr DK Shivakumar,” Kumaraswamy stated.
“By the people’s blessings and God’s grace, whatever opportunity I received, I only tried to help people within my capacity. I humbly admit that I do not possess the kind of ‘vast experience’ that you claim to have. Land grabbing and encroachment are at your fingertips. Similarly, you are unmatched in encroaching upon another minister’s portfolio. That is all I pointed out,” he lashed out.
“You may be the Deputy Chief Minister, but don’t you know that the decorum and authority of that post are the same as those of a minister? There are no extra horns or special powers attached to it, nor can you create them for yourself. Did even this basic fact not strike you, Mr DK Shivakumar, despite your ‘experience’?” Kumaraswamy stated.
“In Ballari, the meeting of police officers should have been conducted by the Home Minister. That falls within his jurisdiction. Alternatively, the Chief Minister can hold such a meeting. You conducting it amounts to a clear violation of protocol and authority. Will you call this administrative experience or seniority and pat yourself on the back?” he asked.
“Anyway, did the Home Minister or the Chief Minister ask you to hold that meeting? They did not. That is why I asked whether the Home Minister is merely a figurehead or a rubber-stamp Home Minister. Did you get a special constitutional amendment passed to illegally encroach upon the portfolio of a senior minister like this?” he questioned.
“You claim to have enormous experience and great seniority. Why did you not understand even such a simple matter, Mr DK Shivakumar?” Kumaraswamy stated.
Shivakumar, on Thursday, said that there is a significant likelihood of the Janata Dal (Secular) party merging with the BJP in the near future, based on the political stance of H.D. Kumaraswamy, the Union Minister of Large Industries and Steel.
“Looking at Kumaraswamy’s stance, it appears that the JD(S) may soon merge with the BJP. If that happens, it will be good for us as well. We can then fight the BJP directly. The confusion of ‘three parties in the fray but only two parties in the reckoning’ will be removed,” Shivakumar said.
Reacting to criticism by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy over alleged interference, Deputy CM Shivakumar had said, “Mr Kumaraswamy, I have more experience than you. I have better experience in administration. I may not have been the Chief Minister, but I know who to call, what to do and how to get things done. I have worked for a long time as a minister. I know what administration is. I don’t want to learn anything from Kumaraswamy.”
