‘I‘d rather quit than compromise on principles’

The scorching pace at which things moved politically in Karnataka, resulting in the Congress’ loss of power and the emergence of an unlikely Janata Dal (Secular)-BJP alliance, was just the beginning. The relationship between the new partners is an uneasy one, especially with H D Deve Gowda and his son, H D Kumaraswami, who is heading the coalition government as chief minister, refusing to sacrifice their party’s interest at the altar of secularism. In an interview with Shahid Faridi, Kumaraswami gives a glimpse of what the future holds. Excerpts:

There has been a lot of confusion about your relationship with your father after you decided to join hands with the BJP to form a government. Is he with you or against you? The statements by you and your father have not helped remove this perplexity yet.
To understand our relationship, the phases it went through in the past few months, you will have to understand the situation we, and our party, went through during this period. In the previous state Assembly elections, the people gave a fractured mandate. No party got a majority. My father helped the Congress form a coalition government with the JD (S) as its partner. A large number of our party MLAs, however, were against the alliance with the Congress: they wanted to go with the BJP. But in deference to my father’s wishes, everybody kept quiet. The coalition government with the Congress was formed after many rounds of consultations with the Congress high command and our party agreed to all the conditions the Congress laid down. But it is a matter of record that the Congress failed to keep its promises it had made to us. The state cabinet was not expanded for eight months. Boards and corporations were not reconstituted to accommodate our men. Our MLAs were made to sit without any work. It soon became clear to us that the Congress leaders thought that we had no option but to have an alliance with them. So, they started humiliating us. Local leaders started making all kinds of accusations against my father. They even started creating differences within our party and luring away our leaders with big promises. Their attempt was to wean away a large chunk of our MLAs and finish our party.

Our MLAs finally pulled out of the coalition with Congress and forced me to lead them. I have had good equations with all our MLAs right from the beginning. They would always tell me things that they could not tell my father. By joining hands with the BJP, we actually saved our party. We tried to explain to him that we had not compromised on our party’s ideology. We told him that the formation of this new government with the BJP was only to protect the interest of our party and
the state. We requested him to bless us. My father was very upset with our decision—but he has now come to the conclusion that our decision did save our party.

So you have his blessings now?
I was confident that I would win his support with my work. I can say that he is now confident that our government will help materialise his dreams for the state. Our government is committed to bridging the gap between the urban and rural areas that had developed after the country started following the policies of economic liberalisation.

Point taken—but you’ve been avoiding meeting top BJP leaders on your Delhi visits. This has put a question mark on the longevity of your alliance with the BJP.
I am a very small person. I have no intention of avoiding the BJP leaders. At an appropriate time, and if necessary, I will meet them. But let me tell you that this government (in Karnataka) was formed by the MLAs and the state leaders of the two parties. No Central leader was involved in the formation of this government.

The BJP has been giving you a lot of flak regarding your style of functioning. They have accused you acting as a ‘big brother’, even though the BJP has more seats in the State Assembly.
The BJP should not forget the results of the recent panchayat elections in Karnataka. The JD (S) polled 31.8 per cent polls while the BJP got only 16 per cent. I am not one to stick to the chair. I have assumed this office to serve the people of the state, and all my decisions have been to meet this end. I will quit rather than compromise on my principles. I will quit the moment I feel that I am not able to protect and promote the interest of the people of the state.

Isn’t it strange that you have fielded candidates against your own coalition partner in the
Thalli Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu?
Not at all. We have formed a coalition government with the BJP in Karnataka because of the peculiar situation in that state. Our partnership is limited to Karnataka. We do not have an all India alliance with the BJP. Both of us are free to fight against each other outside Karnataka. There’s nothing wrong in that.

Given its acrimonious beginnings, are you certain that this coalition government will last its full term?
I am sure that the government will complete its term. I will hand over the reins of the state to the BJP after completing the period allotted to me. And there will be no problems from my side in running the government once I hand over the chief ministership to the BJP.

Your party has a large minorities support in Karnataka. What are the odds that your joining hands with the BJP will alienate the minorities and reduce your party’s strength there?
Not at all. The members of minority communities have full faith and trust in the policies and leadership of our party. Through our work, we have strengthened their faith in our party. My
government is committed to safeguarding the interests of the minorities. In our first Budget, we
allocated Rs 83 crore for various developmental schemes for the minorities, the largest allocation by any government in Karnataka since Independence. The allocation by the previous government was a meagre Rs 32 crore. There is no difference in our words and deeds. The minorities in the state have no doubts about our intentions. So, I don’t think our joining hands with the BJP will have any negative impact on our support among the minorities.