BENGALURU: JDS national president and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda on Saturday said that his party would not sever its alliance with the NDA under any circumstance.
“We have complete faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” he said.
Addressing party workers and leaders after inaugurating the JDS silver jubilee celebrations, Gowda said, “We stand firmly with NDA. A strong government is in place under PM Modi. Our workers and leaders must never forget this.”
“In the interest of the nation, we must continue to work together. The Congress must be taught a lesson for its bad governance.”
Gowda expressed displeasure over Siddaramaiah’s statement in Chamarajanagar that he would never have become the CM if he had remained in JDS.
"I was ready to make him CM,” Gowda claimed. He recounted that Sonia Gandhi insisted on making Dharam Singh CM.
“In Kashmir, you made Ghulam Nabi Azad Deputy CM and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed the CM.
In the same way, I went to Sonia Gandhi’s doorstep three times requesting her to make Siddaramaiah the CM. If Siddaramaiah wants clarity, he may ask her. Sonia Gandhi knows the truth. Ahmed Patel knew it too. Sonia was opposed to making you (Siddaramaiah) CM,” he said. He said to help the party win 58 seats, he had borrowed Rs 2 crore at midnight from a land dealer. “Where was Siddaramaiah then? When you speak, show at least some integrity.”
Gowda questioned Siddaramaiah’s claims about his credentials. “Ramakrishna Hegde served as CM for eight years. Did he make you Finance Minister? It was I who made you Finance Minister,” he said. He continued, “What scholar are you? Are you a Supreme Court lawyer? You are not even a High Court lawyer. You argued just one or two cases in Mysuru. Tell us: what contribution have you made to JDS?”
Referring to Siddaramaiah’s earlier postings, Gowda said, “Hegde made you chairman of Kannada Kavalu Samithi. Later, you handled Animal Husbandry or some other minor department. When Veerappa Moily was CM and the government had no money to pay salaries, Rs 200 crore was borrowed from Peerless Company. After that, you were made Finance Minister. I made you Finance Minister to fix the state’s financial condition. That was my mistake,” Gowda said.
Gowda added, “There were many occasions when I shed tears after making him Deputy CM. When I suggested making him state president of the party, Hegde held my hand and said: ‘Make anyone you want, but not this man.’ But I ignored Hegde’s advice.” “When they planned the AHINDA convention, I said it should be done on the party platform. They did not listen and instead organised it separately in Hubballi. In the end, I had no choice but to expel Siddaramaiah from the party. I have no regrets,” he said.
“In the North, it is JDU. In the South, it is JDS,” stressing, “There it is Nitish, and here it is Kumaraswamy,” he added.
HDK hints at 'explosive' political developments
Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy has hinted that “explosive political developments are set to unfold in Karnataka soon”. He said the situation in the state had reached a point where no one could predict who would take what political stance.
“Unexpected and explosive developments are bound to take place in Karnataka politics,” he added. People are frustrated with poor governance, rising taxes, and prices, he said. “Give our party a chance. I will prove what good governance truly is. If I fail to provide a government that wins the people’s approval, I will never seek your support again,” he said.
Kumaraswamy accused political opponents of maligning former PM and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda, saying, “Deve Gowda had always upheld values and principles in politics. They even spread false propaganda that he purchased 500 plots in Mysuru.” He alleged that the Congress government was squeezing the state in the name of guarantee schemes, and was dividing society in the name of the caste census.