There are no permanent enemies in politics they say and the adage does seem to hold good for JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy who is batting for his once arch rival, Yeddyurappa. The Lokayukta police recently filed six FIRs against B S Yeddyurappa in connection with the illegal denotification of land scam between 2007-2011 based on a CAG report and findings of the Central Investigation Department (CID) report. Kumaraswamy seems to be upset with this. He told The News Minute, “Yeddyurappa has suffered a lot psychologically, so filing more FIRs against him will not serve any purpose.” The JDS leader also said that an FIR should be filed against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for illegalities in the Arkavathi de-notification scam. This is not the first time that Kumaraswamy has been sympathetic to Yeddyurappa's plight. While addressing a press briefing at Chitradurga on Monday, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy vociferously defended the BJP leader, calling the FIRs unnecessary and that he was being targeted by the Siddaramaiah government. He said, “What is the point in registering cases against Yeddyurappa when there are already several cases registered against him? If they have guts, let them register cases against me.” The statement is surprising, that too keeping in mind the equation between the two politicians in the past. The two were perceived to be bitter rivals after Kumaraswamy refused to honour an understanding that the two leaders had agreed upon after the collapse of Dharam Singh-led Congress government in 2006. According to a power-sharing agreement between the two, Kumaraswamy was to head the coalition government for the first 20 months followed by Yeddyurappa for the same period. However, at the last moment Kumaraswamy did a volte-face, refusing to relinquish his post. Following this, Yeddyurappa and his party members withdrew support to the government in 2007, leading to its collapse and subsequently President’s rule was imposed in the state. Two days later, the two leaders reconciled and Yeddyurappa was given the prestigious chief ministership post while Kumaraswamy was made his deputy. In 2011, Kumaraswamy made numerous allegations of large-scale corruption against Yeddyurappa. Their squabble continued when Yeddyurappa dared the JD(S) leader to take a “test of trust” challenge and pledge to swear on oath before Lord Manjunath at Dharmasthala. In fact it was Kumaraswamy who first brought papers out in the open alleging that Yeddyurappa and family had quid pro quo deals with a mining company. Kumaraswamy had alleged that Yeddyurappa had sent an emissary to buy peace (referring to cease the corruption allegations) with money. Irked by this, Yeddyuappa had challenged his former predecessor to testify by the deity in public. Eventually, both of them made took no such oath except for visiting the temple. With such a bitter history, Kumaraswamy’s latest concern for the BJP leader is quite interesting.