Dharwad district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao defended KPCC president G Parameshwara over his controversial barb against JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda stating that it was made in a lighter vein.
Parameshwara had said on Wednesday that he was waiting for Gowda to consume poison as the latter had reportedly said during the 2013 Assembly elections that he would consume poison if his party did not win.
“Parameshwara was joking when he said that he was waiting for Deve Gowda to consume poison. The comment was made in a lighter vein and has been misconstrued by the media. There was no intended malice,” said Gundu Rao, who was in the city to campaign for Congress candidate Vinay Kulkarni. However, he said such statements should not be made against any leader, not even against enemies.
Rao also did not wish to comment on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s statement that Belgaum farmer Vittal Arabhavi was drunk when he committed suicide.
“I am not the home minister to comment on this. However, the CM will not say such things if he does not have a basis. He must have received the first information report prepared about the farmer’s suicide, which contains the intricacies of the incident,” he said.
‘Gujarat Model a False Claim’
The Minister took the BJP to task and said its claims about Gujarat topping the country in development are false. “In fact, Gujarat is lagging in terms of education, health, employment, irrigation and other fields. Also, there is no such thing as the ‘Modi wave.’ The BJP is just using his name to cover up for their earlier scams,” he said.
Gundu Rao campaigned in Islampura and surrouding areas. Hubli Dharwad (East) MLA Prasad Abbayya, district Congress president A M Hindasgeri, Raja Desai, Sadanand Dangannavar and others were present.