A day after a section of Janata Dal (Secular) leaders asked former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to extend support to the BJP government, party national president H.D. Deve Gowda said it would only play “a constructive role as a regional party, sitting in the Opposition.”
Late at Friday night, former Minister and senior party leader G.T. Deve Gowda said a section of the MLAs, at a meeting of the legislature party, favoured supporting the BJP government, stirring up a hornet’s nest. The party president, however, said the JD(S) might support the government only on “pro-people issues” like the passage of the Finance Bill.
In a tweet, Mr. Kumaraswamy called these reports “speculations.”
Mr. Deve Gowda sought to downplay the former Minister’s statements. “It is his personal opinion which he is free to express,” he said. He said that while a decision on the alliance with the Congress would be taken later, the need of the hour was to strengthen the party at the grassroots. Sources in the JD(S) maintained that a sizeable number of MLAs had indeed proposed extending outside support to the BJP government at the meeting.