JD-S to maintain distance from BJP, Cong in K’taka

The JD -S on Saturday ruled out any truck with the Congress for government formation in Karnataka.

The JD -S on Saturday ruled out any truck with the Congress for government formation in Karnataka.

“JD(S) will never knock at the doors of the Congress. It will maintain equi-distance from both the Congress and the BJP,” JD (S) spokesman Y S B Datta said after a meeting of the political affairs committee in the wake of the BJP’s decision to withdraw support to the Kumaraswamy government.

Asked to comment on senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu’s charge that JD (S) had betrayed its coalition partner in the state, Datta said “JD-S was repenting for committing the sin of having shared power with the BJP”.

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Since the party was “humiliated” by the Congress, it was forced to side with the BJP but in the process, BJP benefited a lot while JD-S suffered “humiliation, embarrassment and lost its vote bank,” he said.

Datta said that by deciding not to transfer power to BJP, JD-S has kept its secular credentials high.

Earlier in the day, ending the fortnight-long power tussle in Karnataka following the JD-S’ refusal to handover chief ministership to it, the BJP Parliamentary Board after a meeting, announced to withdraw support to the H D Kumaraswamy government in the state.

The decision to pull out of the regime was taken after JD-S chief Gowda made it clear that power transfer will not take place in the state.