BENGALURU: JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda took a dig at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah while advising Energy Minister D K Shivakumar. At the Krishik Sarvodaya Foundation silver jubilee programme on Saturday, where Shivakumar was also present, Deve Gowda said that whether it was Shivakumar or R Ashok (BJP) or H D Kumaraswamy (JD-S) who became the Chief Minister, it would not be an easy road for them.
“Do not think they will allow you to be the Chief Minister. It is not that easy. I am merely relating my own experiences. I am still in the second rung of leaders. They will not allow us to become the first rung of leaders,” he warned Shivakumar. Ashok, Shivakumar along with the Gowda family have a considerable presence among the Vokkaliga community.
Though Shivakumar is not said to have a good rapport with the Gowda family, recently Kumaraswamy batted for him saying BJP had no right to ask for his resignation after the I-T raids, as the raids did not yield anything.
“I too launched several programmes. But they always kept portraying me as someone who only supported Vokkaligas and opposing other communities. I have suffered this in my political life always,” Gowda said.
Shivakumar said that he had faced a lot of hardships. “I know who has done what, but I have emerged out of it all and I am here today,” said Shivakumar, who later sought Gowda’s blessings.