Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister, D. K. Shivakumar, has launched a direct political assault on former Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy and his family, accusing them of acquiring vast wealth through real estate dealings.
The comments have compounded the pitched political war of words between the Congress and leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) party in Karnataka. Speaking publicly to reporters, Shivakumar said people from Doddagubbi and Chikkagubbi near Bengaluru knew full well of the ways the Kumaraswamy family was said to have constructed its financial empire through land and property transactions.
He challenged JD(S) leaders to justify their business interests and property holdings without accusing Congress leaders. “Ask the people of Doddagubbi and Chikkagubbi. They know the wealth was achieved through real estate,” Shivakumar said, responding to criticism brought forward by Kumaraswamy and its opponent leaders.
The Deputy CM’s comments come on days of heightened political strife within the state, with both Congress and JD(S) figures accusing each other of corruption, abuse and illegal land dealing. This rivalry has intensified amid the forthcoming local body and organisational elections within Karnataka.
Shivakumar also defended his private history and business dealings, stating he built his assets by legitimate and transparent means and through law-based business activities. He blamed the opposition parties for playing a part of selective targeting him for political reasons, while dismissing accusations against their own leaders.
The central JD(S) has been accused by opposition parties related to land deals and real estate interests in the rapidly expanding peripheries of Bengaluru, along the lines of Kumaraswamy and former PM H. D. Deve Gowda. But the party has repeatedly disavowed such allegations and accused the leaders of Congress of spreading misinformation as a form of political manoeuvring.
Political observers feel that fresh allegations are another part of a contest for supremacy in the Old Mysuru area and Bengaluru Rural belt, a district that both Congress and JD(S) occupy, as they have a large voter base. Real estate development, especially in Bengaluru, is fast emerging over the years as a sensitive political issue when land is being developed at phenomenal rates, and the size of cities gets even larger.
The BJP is also in the game, saying that Congress and JD(S) are both taking on corrupt and land-related politics while ignoring the governance challenges that the people face. Karnataka politics have increasingly grown confrontational, and there's been no shortage of headlines filled with senior leaders' comments that ignite furious responses among party workers.
JD(S) leaders, meanwhile, will react strongly to Shivakumar’s allegations in the coming days. "Speech battles are brewing between India's two major powers, and the result will be a more-or-less all-encompassing reorientation of alliances and voter sentiments to which the status quo of state politics would still be bound," political analysts say.
