Six months: A roller coaster ride for Kumaraswamy Govt

Bangalore, Aug 3 (UNI) Braving controversies and a series of corruption charges, the Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-BJP coalition Government in Karnataka managed to complete six months in office, today.

It had been a bumpy ride for the Government which took over the mantle of the State on February three, ever since the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor issue snowballed into a major controversy. Even before the dust could settle on the matter, the Rs 150 crore bribery charge surfaced against Mr Kumaraswamy and two of his Ministerial colleagues. Compounding to his woes, the Congress had accused Mr Kumaraswamy's family members of purchasing a Rs 85 crore worth property on the outskirts of the city.

Expressing satisfaction over the performance of his Government, Mr Kumaraswamy today left it to the people to make a judgment.

However, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly N Dharam Singh rated it at zero.

The JD(S)-BJP combine came together after a section of the JD(S) Legislators staged a coup against the previous Congress-led coalition Government by joining hands with the BJP.

With diverse political ideologies, the two parties cobbled up a new coalition with an understanding that the JD(S) would head the Government for the first 20 months, after which they would go in for reversal of roles for the remaining 20 months.

Mr Kumaraswamy, though a novice in the Assembly, won over the confidence of most JD(S) MLAs and was elected the JD(S) Legislature Party leader. Though his father and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda denied his blessings to the new dispensation, Mr Kumaraswamy provided a good start by presenting a development oriented budget without burdening the people with fresh taxes.

Initially, the coalition Government had generated much enthusiasm among the public with the youngest Chief Minister touring the length and breadth of the State and lending an ear to people's problems through his 'Janata Darshan' programme.

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