Kumaraswamy breaks down, says want to swallow pain of coalition govt

Bengaluru: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy broke down and wept at a party function on Saturday that was held to felicitate his ascent to chief ministership, saying he was finding it difficult to cope with the pressures of office.

“The CM’s post is not a bed of roses, it’s a bed of thorns,” he said where he must work with coalition partner Congress, fend off opposition BJP and satisfy the aspirations of his own party legislators. “If the pressure gets to me, I’ll have no hesitation in resigning in less than a couple of hours. I’m not after power. I was only interested in becoming CM to save our farmers from debt trap”.

With his eyes filled with tears, he told his fellow partymen: "You may be happy that your elder or younger brother became the CM. But I am not happy. I am keeping in myself all the pain, as the "Vishakanta' (the receptable of all poison) People gather in large numbers to listen my speech but they will forget my party at the time of voting. I do not blame the electorate. I have undergone heart surgery for the second time and my body is working without any rest. I became Chief Minister due to the blessings of my parents and God's grace and formed the government with the help of Congress".

Repeatedly wiping his tears away with a handkerchief, Kumaraswamy said: "In 2006, I went against the wishes of my father and gave him a lot of pain. At that time, media was not against him. Now, I do not know what mistake I have committted or which section of society that I have hurt, but they (media) are against him. This is haunting me. My government waived current loan of farmers up to Rs one lakh which is an additional burden on state exchequer to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore. I did not know whether I did the right thing or the wrong thing. Let the farmers decide if they are happy with my decision."

"It's up to to you to decide to give me poison or water. Fisherwomen in Mangaluru have launched a campaign "Kumaraswamy is not our chief minister". I will come, meet and talk to you in two weeks and you should tell me where I have erred. I want to become 'Vishakanta' of coalition government to gulp poison and give nectar to you all."

Invoking God, Kumaraswamy said nature had been kind towards him as all the dams were full and this has solved problems of farmers. "Whether anybody supports me or not, Mother Nature is with me. Goddess Chamundeshwari is protecting me. God has given me power and I have no worries if it is snatched away from me at anytime. The Chief Minister’s post is not a bed of roses, it's a bed of thorns".