The four-week-old coalition government in Karnataka has not disappointed critics who have predicted a troubled marriage between the Janata Dal Secular and Congress. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is finding it difficult to take even the first step in delivering on his mandate.
While campaigning for the May 12 election, both Mr Kumaraswamy's party and the Congress had promised the big-ticket step of waiving farm loans.
Mr Kumaraswamy has now said he would announce the details in a budget he would present on July 5. This has apparently rattled the man who handled finance earlier - Congress's former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah, who now heads the coalition coordination committee, has been caught hitting out at the Chief Minister in two videos apparently recorded at a naturopathy retreat where he spent some days earlier this month.
In one video, he is seen speaking skeptically about the Kumaraswamy government completing its five-year term. "They (government) will remain until parliament elections are over, after that, what all developments will happen (we will have to see)," Siddaramaiah added.
The second video recording, also shown on a local channel, has him questioning the need for a fresh budget since the JDS is in a coalition with the Congress, which presented the last one.
"When the common minimum programme of the two parties has not yet been prepared, why prepare for a new budget," he is heard asking.
Siddaramaiah also reportedly referred to his party colleague and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara as having said it was common for a new government to have a new budget.
So has Mr Siddaramaiah's ties with the JDS, the party he quit in 2006 to join the Congress.
Reports suggest he is the go-to man for Congress leaders upset with the terms of the coalition.
For weeks after Mr Kumaraswamy's oath ceremony, the allies couldn't agree on the distribution of ministries and fought for the finance portfolio until Congress president Rahul Gandhi stepped in. Mr Kumaraswamy kept the portfolio and now fully intends to present a new budget, especially before the 2019 national polls.
At the first meeting of the coordination committee earlier this month, the partners had reportedly agreed that the flagship programmes of the previous Congress government would continue - like rice at Rs one rupee a kg under the Anna Bhagya scheme and the low-cost Indira Canteens.
Unable To Repay Loans, 3 Of Family Die By Suicide In Karnataka: Cops Theft At Official Residence Of Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh, Cash Stolen: Cops "I Am The Candidate": DK Shivakumar's Declaration For Key Poll In Karnataka's Channapatna Assembly How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Mamata Banerjee's Sunday Ultimatum To CBI For Death Penalty In Rape-Murder Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death GATE 2025 Information Brochure Out, Check Highlights Of Exam 4 Arrested In Chinese-linked Online Betting App Fraud Worth Rs 400 Crore Haryana To Vote On October 1 For State Elections, Counting On October 4 Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.