Refrain from making controversial remarks: KPCC chief to Cong-JDS leaders

Bengaluru: With some leaders of the Congress-JDS coalition government engaging in verbal duels, KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao appealed to both parties to refrain from making any controversial statements in public.

“It’s my earnest appeal to the leaders of both Congress and JDS in Karnataka, to refrain from making any controversial statements in public,” he tweeted.

On May 23, people will see the emergence of a new secular and progressive government at the Centre, he said.

“Hence, it is important that all parties who want a non-BJP government display unity and show citizens that they can work together and deliver a stable government,” he added.

In a pre-poll deal, the partners fielded joint candidates in all the 28 seats, with the Congress in 21 and JDS in seven seats in Karnataka for the elections that were held in two phases on April 18 and April 23.

Commenting on exit polls, most forecasting another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP almost sweeping Karnataka in the Lok Sabha, Rao said the decimation of JDS-Congress alliance “is far from truth.”

Instead the coalition partners will be performing much better, he said.

“Have seen all the #ExilPolls2019.Figures for Karnataka are showing that the @INCIndia-JDS alliance is getting decimated. This is far from the truth.

We will be performing much, much better that what’s being predicted. Wait for 23rd May,” he said in a tweet.

Rao also asked the leaders to focus their energies on ousting BJP from power at the centre.

“Our foremost goal at this juncture is to help out the BJP from power at the centre. Let us focus all our energies on that,” he added.

Rao said he along with KC Venugopal, Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara and D K Shivakumar met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed ways to strengthen the Congress party in Karnataka and the coalition government.

“Results of May 23rd are going to give us a huge boost,” he added.

Backing Rao’s appeal, State JDS president A H Vishwanath, in Mysuru, said the coalition government will continue to work for the people under Kumaraswamy’s leadership for the full term as agreed by Gandhi and Deve Gowda after the assembly election gave a fractured verdict.

The recent verbal sparring began after the ‘Siddaramiah for CM’ clamour within a section of the Congress.

Vishwanath had blamed Siddaramaiah for causing the rift between the coalition partners.

Kumaraswamy also stirred a hornet’s nest by saying Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge should have been made the chief minister long ago, but was denied the opportunity for reasons best known to Congress leaders.