2006 Jan 18: When his son H.D. Kumaraswamy seemingly pulled off a coup to ally with the BJP and break the 20-month old Congress-JD(S) alliance Gowda reacted by saying. “Today is the saddest day in my 50 years of politics. What happened today is not right. I have been more hurt than when I was forced to step down as prime minister”Jan 19: Gowda publicly announced his resignation as the party’s national president over the JD(S) alliance with the BJP. He later withdrew his resignationJan 23: Gowda justified his son’s alliance with the BJP saying,”I have suffered humiliation in the last 18 months. I believe what my son has done is to save the party. It is 100 per cent to save the party. Otherwise, they (Congress) would have split my party” Feb 3: After he assumed office as chief minister, Kumaraswamy responding to a query on the loss of his party’s secular image following the alliance with the BJP, said, “I don’t know what is secularism. Even after referring dictionaries, I am still searching for its meaning”2007May 2: BJP leader and then deputy CM B.S. Yeddyurappa reacting to Gowda’s charge that the BJP is an unreliable partner said “Even if a BJP chief minister is at the helm of the coalition it is our duty to listen to Deve Gowda” Sept 27: After refusing to hold talks with the BJP on the power transfer scheduled for Oct 3, following murder charges levelled by a BJP minister B. Sriramulu against Kumaraswamy, Gowda said: “This is the first time in the history of the state that a murder complaint has been filed against the chief minister by a minister in the government. The atmosphere is now not conducive for talks with senior BJP leaders. If the atmosphere is cleared and if BJP leaders express desire to talk I will talk”Oct 4: Kumaraswamy spoke at a JD(S) public rally to virtually announce his exit from the BJP coalition: “If tomorrow, after transferring power there are communal riots in the state, what will be worse — the breaking of a promise or the break down of law and order. Within 48 hours of promising not to touch the Babri Masjid, through a court affidavit, it was broken” Oct 6: After the alliance broke down, Yeddyurappa labelled Gowda and his son betrayers, and said: “We will travel to each and every village to tell people how we were betrayed by these power-hungry people”Oct 14: Kumaraswamy said, “There are three options before us: one to ally with the Congress again and get kicked; second to revive ties with BJP and get kicked; lastly go before the people. If they bless us it is okay, but even if they kick us, we will accept. I prefer the last option”Oct 15: Yeddyurappa said, “There is no question of an alliance with the JD(S) when we have already divorced them”Oct 27: B.S. Yeddyurappa announced a re-alliance with the JD(S), saying, “We are joining hands once again only to prevent the Congress from coming to power”. Kumaraswamy said a re-alliance was being forged with the BJP as “everything is being done to check the move by the Congress to disintegrate the JD(S)”Oct 31: Gowda sent a letter to BJP national president Rajnath Singh setting out 12 conditions for the survival of the renewed BJP-JD(S) alliance. “In the event of any significant departure or deviation from the above understanding that impairs the ability of the coalition to provide highest standards of governance in the state, any of the partners shall be at liberty to withdraw from the coalition” it saidNov 8: After president’s rule was revoked and BJP-JD(S) coalition invited to form government, Kumaraswamy said, “The BJP leaders at the state and the Centre must take my father seriously and not ignore him”Nov 19: B.S. Yeddyurappa, while accepting defeat of his seven-day-old government said, “We were taught not to take what belongs to others. It seems that Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy like to take what belongs to others”
