BENGALURU: Former PM and JDS national president HD Deve Gowda launched a scathing attack on the Congress, but restrained himself from criticising the BJP, during a media interaction on Saturday.
This follows Janata Dal (Secular) supporting the farm bills in the Legislative Council, where the ruling BJP does not have enough numbers and recent reports of the two parties getting close to each other.
Gowda clarified that the party he started will not merge with any other political entity.
“There have been relentless efforts over the last two-three months to damage the reputation of the party and discussions are being held on whether the party will survive at all. It may seem like entertainment for others, but only those who have built regional parties will know the pain behind it,” he said. In the same breath, he said that the complete responsibility of building the party has been given to his son and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.
Without taking the name of former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, who was with JDS, Gowda said, “Some people are questioning my commitment to secularism. When Kumaraswamy was sworn in as chief minister, secular leaders from across the country attended the event. But who was the person who played in the background to ensure that the coalition government did not continue? In the last Assembly election, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called JDS the ‘B’ team of BJP. Who made him give such a statement?”
Continuing in the same vein, he said, “When Congress approached us to form the coalition government in the state, I told them to make Mallikarjun Kharge the chief minister. Kharge too had said that he will accept the post if the high command gives the green signal. But who stopped him from becoming the CM?
Congress extended unconditional support and made Kumaraswamy the CM, but who created problems over allotment of portfolios? I know what happens in Congress, but I don’t want to speak. It’s better they stop making irresponsible statements about our party.” He said a conference will be held to discuss the strategies to organise the party at Palace Grounds on January 7.