No doubt about stability of Cong-JD(S) govt: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Jun 29: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah said today he was not unhappy about the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka as was being projected, and there was no doubt about the stability of the government.

Breaking his silence on the controversy over video leaks that purportedly showed his remarks on the fresh budget and longevity of the government, Siddaramaiah termed video-graphing of a casual talk and making it public as "unethical". "What I have said, in what context I have said you do not know. Whoever it is, recording my casual talk with some one and making it public without knowing the context... Is it not unethical," he questioned when asked about the videos.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Congress representatives in the drafting committee of the common minimum programme and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, he said: "You too don't know in what context I have spoken, nobody knows. So I don't have anything to do with it." "We have formed a coalition government to keep away the communal BJP out of power. The coalition government will be stable; there is no doubt in that. It will be stable," Siddaramaiah, who heads the co-ordination committee of the two parties, added.

A video showing Siddaramaiah purportedly expressing doubts about the longevity of the JD(S)-Congress government surfaced on Tuesday, adding to the strains of the coalition. Another video surfaced on Sunday, purportedly showing him expressing his displeasure to Congress legislators over presentation of a fresh budget.

"Who told you that I'm unhappy," he said in response to a question about speculation he was unhappy with the coalition government. Siddaramaiah returned to Bengaluru last night after undergoing treatment for 12 days at a nature cure hospital in Dharmasthala.

The videos were said to be recorded there without his knowledge. Divergent views have been aired in public by some Congress and JD(S) leaders on several issues, including presentation of the budget. Siddaramaiah, who had held the finance portfolio in the previous government, recently said there was no need for a fresh budget and insisted that a supplementary budget would do. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who holds the finance portfolio now, is scheduled to present the budget on July 5.

PTI