Karnataka meltdown: Congress leader Roshan Baig trains guns at Siddaramaiah, calls KC Venugopal a buffoon

Congress-JDS alliance(Source: The Indian Express)

Senior Karnataka Congress leader Roshan Baig has triggered a new controversy after he hit out on the party in-charge KC Venugopal and called him a buffoon. Baig even levelled allegations that the portfolios in the Karnataka state assembly were ‘sold’. Training his guns on former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said, “From day 1 Siddaramaiah said ‘I’m going to be CM’. You’ve gone to their doorstep to form govt!”

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The Exit Polls on Sunday, that painted a grim picture for the fortunes of the coalition government of JDS and Congress in the state of Karnataka, has finally brought the simmering discontent within the Congress party out in the open.

Calling the in-charge of Congress Karnataka, KC Venugopal a buffoon, Baig asserted that the arrogance of Siddaramiah and the “flop show” of the party president Gundu Rao is why people have been disenchanted with the coalition government in the state. Baig made the remarks in the reference to the exit poll results that forecasted BJP sweep in the state.

Baig also alleged that the portfolios in the Karnataka coalition government were sold. He further added that Kumaraswamy cannot be held responsible for the failure of the coalition government because he was not allowed to function. According to Baig Siddaramiah asserted to be the CM of the state since day 1 of the formation of the government.

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Baig has been relentless in attacking the Congress leadership in Karnataka. He also said that he has been unhappy with the party as no seats were given to the Christians and only 1 seat was given to Muslims. Baig alleged that the interests of the minorities, in contrast to the promises made, were ignored and they were used only to garner votes.

The rift between the Congress and the JDS was widening as both parties tried to outdo the other for the struggle to grab power in the coalition government. The coalition was formed against the wishes of the grass-roots cadres of both the parties who had fought bitterly during the state elections. Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has expressed his laments many times over how he has been reduced to a clerk due to Congress interference in the governance.

Amidst the widening rift between the two parties, the forecast from the exit polls has delivered a body blow to the fate of the coalition government in the state. It is now widely speculated that if the exit polls turn out true, the coalition government in the state will collapse and many other disgruntled Congress leaders might come out to openly attack their state party leadership and switch over to the opposition.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia