HD Kumaraswamy has responded to comments by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on "dynastic parties"
Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has responded to comments by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on "dynastic parties". PM Modi during his visit to Telangana earlier this week had said the country's youth are not getting a chance in politics because of dynastic parties, in what was seen as a comment aimed at Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, or KCR.
Today, Mr Kumaraswamy, whose father HD Deve Gowda had also been the Chief Minister and briefly the Prime Minister in the 1990s, said PM Modi should have "made a realistic study of the background of BJP's growth and made the speech."
"Janata Parivar grew into a big tree and branched out into several parties. BJP is also a part of Janata Parivar. JD(S), JD(U), BJD and SP are all branches of the big Janata Parivar tree. Offshoots of Janata Parivar have not only grown up today but also have deep roots wherever they are," the Janata Dal (Secular) leader tweeted.
"It is not easy to shake these parties leave alone uprooting them. Not that Modi ji doesn't know this. Jan Sangh which transformed itself into BJP didn't come to power at the centre on its own. They came to power with the help of family-run parties. How NDA did take shape?" Mr Kumaraswamy said.
"There is no threat from family centric politics for the country. The threat is from the communal BJP. Raking up emotional issues among people and capturing power is democracy's biggest enemy; detrimental to the constitution. I do not think that Modi ji doesn't know this," Mr Kumaraswamy said.
In Telangana, KCR's party had hit back at PM Modi, who it said "did not speak like the PM of the country, only the leader of the BJP".
Family-based parties are busy in appeasement politics and filling their own bank accounts, PM Modi had said, while claiming that the BJP wants to transform Telangana into a technology hub.
Notably, Telangana Chief Minister's son KT Rama Rao is a legislator from Sircilla and is the cabinet minister for Information Technology, Municipal Administration and Urban Development.
KCR's daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha served as MP from Nizamabad and is currently serving as a Member of the Legislative Council, Nizamabad since 2020.
KCR's nephew, Harish Rao, is an MLA for Siddipet and Telangana's cabinet minister for finance.