Roshagniramaiah: Rifts within the Congress-Janata Dal Secular alliance in Karnataka, already on edge after losing a trust vote last month that handed the state to the BJP, are widening after a war of words between Congress leader Siddaramaiah and JDS veteran HD Deve Gowda. Mr Siddaramaiah today hit back at comments by the former Prime Minister in which he had blamed him and the Congress for causing the coalition's collapse, calling them "baseless" and "politically motivated".
"Deve Gowda has made some allegations against me. They are all baseless, politically motivated and false. Gowda never allowed someone else to grow. They JDS do not even let people from their own caste grow. I have friends in all castes and in all parties," Mr Siddaramaiah, 71, said today.
"I was also in JDS with them, I know all their conspiracies," he added, insisting that the coalition had really been weakened by the government not taking MLAs and ministers into their confidence.
