BENGALURU: Condoling the death of S L Dharme Dowda, the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that it was a murder committed by the political system which was filled with selfish motives and lost values.Speaking to media persons on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy said his partyman was morally upright and was deeply upset over the incident that took place in the Council over the no-confidence motion against the Chairman.
“He was depressed after the incident and his brother SL Bhojegowda (also an MLC) had informed me around 10 days ago that Dharme Gowda would take some hasty decision. I spoke to him (Dharme Gowda) over the phone for more than 30 minutes. I told him it was not his mistake.”
“There are many politicians who have looted the resources of the state and this country. On the other hand, some politicians are honest and sensitive like Dharme Gowda. When there was no majority, why was the Chairman not asked to resign? They wanted to test H D Deve Gowda’s commitment to secular values. At last, it led to this incident and Dharme Gowda has become the scapegoat,” he said, without taking the name of the Congress or its leaders. He added that there should be an impartial probe into the reasons that drove Dharme Gowda to take this extreme step.
JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda said, “Dharme Gowda met me and I had advised him not to sit in the Chairman’s seat and become a scapegoat. But unfortunately, it happened. We have lost an honest politician,” he lamented.KPCC president D K Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, and several others have condoled Dharme Gowda’s death.
Shocked, says CM
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said that he was shocked by the incident. “Dharme Gowda had entered politics from the grassroot level by becoming a Gram Panchayat member. He was a soft-spoken person and I am shocked by the decision he took.” He said that Dharme Gowda had left a detailed note before ending his life, but its contents cannot be revealed.