Jaitley: Need decisive leader like PM, not ‘bechara’ HDK

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 16

Calling Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy a “tragedy king”, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Monday said India needed strong and decisive leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not a “bechara”.

“Is Karnataka a preview of what Congress and the Federal Front promise for the future,” Jaitley wondered amid Opposition’s efforts to cobble up an anti-BJP alliance for the upcoming General Election.

“The country has been watching with keen interest the developments in Karnataka in the past two months. It is a repeat of what the Congress did to Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandrasekhar, HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral? It is the obvious consequence of a non-ideological opportunistic alliance with no positive agenda. The basis of the negative agenda is ‘Keep Modi Out’,” he wrote. Lashing out at Kumaraswamy for his emotional outburst on Monday, Jaitley claimed the only objective of the Congress-JD(S) alliance was “survival and not serving the nation”.

“Modi has clearly demonstrated the advantages of a decisive leadership. The PM and his government have to overcome the challenges that India faces today,” Jaitley said.

“Can a leadership unsure of itself meet the challenge of eliminating poverty and transforming the world’s fastest growing economy into a developed nation? He cannot be seen like the Chief Minister of Karnataka as a tragedy king. If such a coalition is a cup of poison, why even dream of inflicting it on the nation? The leader of the world’s fastest growing economy cannot be a ‘bechara’,” he said.

Jaitley said past few days had seen Kumaraswamy “baring his emotions with tears, wetting his eyes and declining to accept bouquets and garlands”. “He was candid enough to publicly state ‘I am swallowing my pain just nothing more than poison without sharing it. I am not happy with the situation for the last month. Listening to these statements of an honourable Chief Minister, my memory took me back to the dialogues of the tragedy era of Hindi cinema. If this is the consequence of a two-party coalition, what is it that a disparate group of parties with no ideological similarity offer to India?

“India is today passing through a phase where a great opportunity awaits it. We need, for the next decade and more, a high trajectory growth. We are faced with the global challenge of terrorism and the current economic challenges thrown up by rising crude oil prices and the trade war.

“To confront these challenges, India needs a strong and cohesive government. More so, it needs a decisive political leadership. It needs a government that is able to resist unfair pressures of either allies or regions. It is the high growth rate, investment in rural India and the social sectors, credibility and strength of the Indian economy which will help us be domestically strong to meet these challenges.

“If fighting terror has to be compromised because of vote bank pressures of allies, then such a government would be a liability and curse on the nation. Can a leadership unsure of itself meet the challenge of eliminating poverty and transforming the world’s fastest growing economy into a developed nation?” he wrote.