At Deve Gowda’s home turf Hassan, Siddaramaiah says era of former PM over
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attacked former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda for allying with the BJP and asked him not to pursue vendetta politics.
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H D Deve Gowda (right), with
Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru. (PTI file)Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched an attack on former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda at his home turf in Hassan on Thursday, saying that “by joining hands with communal forces”, the Janata Dal (Secular) supremo had “lost the morality to have ‘secular’ in the party name”.
The era of Deve Gowda was over, Siddaramaiah said during a massive ‘Janakalyana Samavesha’ event held on Thursday. “He says he will continue in politics till his last breath. I am not opposed to it. But, don’t pursue vendetta politics. Don’t say that you will finish others off politically,” Siddaramaiah said, attacking Gowda for his remarks about removing the Congress government in Karnataka.
“I want to say one thing to Deve Gowda. By joining hands with communal forces, you have lost the morality to have ‘secular’ in the name of your party,” the chief minister said, referring to the party’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. “Deve Gowda used to say that his was a secular party….. Ahead of the previous (Lok Sabha) election, in 2019, you should have heard his speeches. He had said that BJP will not return to power and if Modi becomes PM, he would leave the country,” Siddaramaiah recalled.
He also accused Gowda and his son, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H D Kumaraswamy, of cheating BJP leader B S Yediyurappa. “In 2006, Kumaraswamy became CM for the first time. But he cheated Yediyurappa and the government fell. Who cheated? (It was) Mr Kumaraswamy and Mr Deve Gowda,” he said, referring to the BJP-JD(S) coalition government from 2006 to 2008. “Again in 2018, he became CM with our support. But he could not protect the government,” Siddaramaiah alleged.
On the criticism against guarantee schemes by BJP and JD(S), Siddaramaiah said it was akin to opposing benefits extended to the poor. “We will continue guarantee schemes until 2028. After that too, we will form the government and implement the guarantee schemes,” he said, adding that the government would not stop them at any cost.
Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar attempted to put an end to talks about differences between him and Siddaramaiah over ‘power-sharing’ in Karnataka. “I am with Siddaramaiah today, will be with him tomorrow and till I die,” he said.
Though the ‘Janakalyana Samavesha’ was organised jointly by KPCC and Swabhimani Okkoota, the event was initially planned to be a Siddaramaiah-centric programme held in the wake of allegations levelled against him. A group of various associations from backward classes and supporters of Siddaramaiah had announced the event after which the state Congress decided to hold it under the banner of the party along with the associations.
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