Acceptance in Delhi: Former PM H D Deve Gowda agrees with PM Modi, disagrees too

Former PM H D Deve Gowda Monday pointed out that the issue of his acceptance was completely different due to his background and the political circumstances during his tenure.

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H D Deve Gowda also mentioned his inability to speak Hindi as a major barrier for his acceptance in Delhi. (Source: File)

Even while agreeing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s view that the elite in Delhi’s power circles tend to treat outsiders differently, JD(S) leader and former PM H D Deve Gowda Monday pointed out that the issue of his acceptance was completely different due to his background and the political circumstances during his tenure.

“What Modi said in his marathon television interview (to CNN-News 18) is that Morarji was not accepted, Vallabhbhai Patel was not accepted and Deve Gowda was not accepted. Yes, but Deve Gowda’s acceptance is quite different. Morarji was a deputy PM and Vallabhbhai Patel was a deputy PM. I was nothing (before becoming PM) — only a CM for 15 months. And my day-to-day culture was that of a farmer. People were saying, ‘what can this dhotiwala do’,’’Deve Gowda told The Indian Express.

About the political circumstances during his tenure between June 1996 and April 1997, he said: “About my situation, what he said is true. I came from a small village. My entry into the office of the Prime Minister naturally invited the attention of the elite in the society. They wondered how can this man run the country. Then, I had only 15 MPs from Karnataka and Janata Dal had only 44 or 45 MPs in the whole country.”

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“Narendra Modi and the BJP have a clear majority. My circumstances were different. As a national party, the BJP has ruled in the past. Vajpayee has been PM. BJP has its own base in the country. The elite in Delhi have been ruled by the BJP,’’ he added.

Gowda also mentioned his inability to speak Hindi as a major barrier for his acceptance in Delhi. “I was a farmer. I could not speak Hindi. Let us be frank. Modi knows Hindi and English. He knows Hindi, English and Gujarati,’’ he said.

“The media did not accept me….Who is going to present a leader? It is the media. The media can make or break a person. Please understand, I am not blaming the media, but they were naturally against me because I was unable to speak in Hindi and could only speak Kannada. That was my position,’’ Gowda said.

According to the former PM, the key to Modi’s all-round acceptance will be his ability to deliver on the programmes that he has introduced.

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“Modi has introduced a number of programmes. That is worth appreciating. But these programmes have to penetrate at the ground level… Till then, there will be a gap between the elites and the Prime Minister,’’ he said.

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