The assembly session will be a test of survival as Congress sources say there are some in the party who believe the coalition is nothing but a mirage.
Bengaluru: The common minimum programme of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka may have been approved a day before the state assembly session, but every single day, starting with the nine-day session from Monday, will be a test of survival for chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Sources within Congress who are yet to reconcile with the coalition say the whole arrangement of unity with the JD(S) is nothing but a mirage. Both parties have been forced to take this stand and are putting up a combined face just to keep their bigger enemy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), out of power.
Common minimum programme
Kumaraswamy is expected to present the state budget on 5 July, including schemes mentioned in the common minimum programme and the contentious farm loan waiver. The cut-off date for the loan waiver, from both nationalised and cooperative banks, will be 2017.
Under the programme, the government approved allocation of Rs 1.25 trillion for irrigation projects for the next five years. It further mentioned that 20 lakh houses will be built during the term. Aiming to create 1 crore jobs, the government will also focus on skill development. The programme also approved a universal health scheme — Aarogya Karnataka.
In addition, the previous government’s major flagship programmes will be continued.
Difficult consensus
Even though on paper it may seem that the common minimum programme is a reflection of their unity, several compromises have been made between the partners right from the time of portfolio allocation.
The JD(S) was firm on having the finance ministry, even though in the past the ministry was always held by the party that didn’t have the chief ministership.
Former CM Siddaramaiah’s comments, recorded surreptitiously and aired by local TV channels, added further fuel to fire. The alleged leaked tapes, which purportedly showed Siddaramaiah saying he didn’t believe in the longevity of this government, caused a lot of discomfort within the coalition. The situation forced the Congress high command to send Karnataka state-in-charge and AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal to smoothen things out.
Speaking to The Print, Venugopal had a word of caution for leaders and said if there are any problems, they should be sorted out in the coordination committee meeting. He warned that “making comments outside and allegations will not be tolerated”.
“We are clear that the common minimum programme will be implemented strictly and we will fulfill each and every promise. The BJP is unable to appreciate the work that is being done by the Congress. They are living in a dream world. They keep saying that this government will fall, they are trying to poach and appease some of our MLAs by making huge promises, but nothing will happen,” said Venugopal.
Some feel that at every step of the way the two parties can expect some form of challenge from the senior Congressman to ensure credit for his work during his five-year-term as CM.
The Congress has to reconcile with the tantrums of Siddaramaiah, said a senior JDS leader who did not want to be named.
“It’s clear that he is hurt by Rahul Gandhi’s decisions and also feels that the Congress high command is trying to sidetrack him. While doing so, Siddaramaiah being the ambitious man that he is may even have desires beyond the Congress. He may even leave the Congress if it comes to that, as he is not an original Congressman and has no loyalties to the party,” the leader said.
Joint legislature party meeting
A little over a month since the government formation, the two coalition partners are yet to hold a joint legislature meeting, possibly because it may turn out to be a major embarrassment for both. At the level of the candidates, the partners fought a bitter election and getting together to protect their government now is a difficult proposition.
For instance, a joint legislature party meeting would bring Siddaramaiah face to face with his archrival and higher education minister G.T. Deve Gowda, a prospect appealing to none.
“How can the legislators have a formal meeting together? How can Siddaramaiah face G.T. Deve Gowda? If they oppose Siddaramaiah, they will have to forego their own position in the party. This is the catch-22 situation they are in. They say that they will manage till 2019, they claim that they will even complete a full term, but I doubt that they can do so as they are too many contradictions and ego clashes within the parties and it may cause a huge rift,” said a JDS leader on condition of anonymity.
Venugopal, however, does not see this as an issue. “We will have the joint legislature party meeting very soon. For the official meeting, we have to select officers and this session is too short for it. We need to do some homework and we will do it in the next session.”
Days to come
The internal contradictions between the Congress and the JD(S) will also be exploited by the BJP. The party is expected to point out how leaders from both Congress and JD(S) have no trust in their government and are fooling the people of the state with the mask of being “one happy family”.
JD(S) secretary-general and spokesperson Danish Ali, however, said all issues have been sorted out and the common minimum programme will be implemented.
“We have managed to find a solution to the farm loan waiver issue and bring a consensus while ensuring that the major flagship programmes of the previous government continue,” Ali said.
Political analyst Prof Muzaffar Assadi said there won’t be any serious hurdles before the coalition as both the parties are ideologically alike and have similar social bases. Assadi said it is the politics of ‘inevitability’ that forced the Congress and JD(S) to come up with a draft that was acceptable as common minimum programme.
“They have no other go but to consolidate themselves and iron out their contradictions. In Karnataka, this is the third time we are seeing this coalition experiment. But this time, they (Congress) are very cautious as the collateral of this experiment, in case of failure, will not bring them back to power. They have their eyes on 2019 and both of them will accommodate as much as possible,” he said.
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist, Barnala (Punjab)
There are a large number of factors which will keep the two coalition partners flock together in Karnataka !
No doubt, the vested interests will leave no stone unturned to keep the rumour mongering mills quite active
to create an atmosphere of confusion and uncertainty to grind their own axe !
Ths Congress-JD(Secular) combine government led by HD Kumaraswamy is a product of necessity and
need of the time to keep BJP aloof from pedestal of power !
Both Congress and JD(Secular) cannot afford to commit the blunder of facilitating BJP even to dream of
anywhere near power allusion !
Both the combine partners cannot forget even for a single moment the time tested dictum:
” United we stand divided we fall “!
Prof PK Sharma,Freelance Journalist
Pom Anm Nest,Barnala (Punjab)