Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, on Friday, dubbed the ruling Congress in Karnataka as “corrupt”, alleging that the party swindled the taxpayers’ money to fund the assembly polls in five states. Vowing to defeat the Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Gowda said it would also spell the end of the Congress era in Karnataka under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Addressing a press meet in Bengaluru, the JD(S) patriarch, while justifying the JD(S)-BJP alliance, hinted that his party’s ultimate goal is to defeat the Congress, for the “humiliation” caused to him and his decades-long career as a secular leader.
Answering a query on the seat-sharing formula between the alliance partners and the chances of JD(S) candidates winning the seats, Gowda shot back saying the question as to how many seats his party would contest or win was immaterial.
“We want to defeat the Congress for humiliating Deve Gowda, who did not compromise on his secular ideology in the last 60 years. Today, the INDIA alliance is questioning my credentials. Let me tell you, we are determined to see that the Congress in Karnataka is defeated and the era of Congress ends under D.K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah,” said Gowda, making his annoyance public over the INDIA alliance partners mocking at the JD(S) joining hands with BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming LS polls.
“As long as my party continues to remain an alliance partner of the NDA, we will continue to raise our voice when the ruling Congress is indulging in vindictive politics, as in the case of Srikanth Poojary who has been arrested following the revoking of a 30-year-old case,” asserted the patriarch.
Further, he alleged that the Congress government spent Karnataka taxpayers’ money on the recently concluded assembly elections in five states.
“Our deputy chief minister (Shivakumar), his arrogance, the places he has visited and the amount of money he has carted away for elections and how much money the election commission confiscated is now out in the open. Where does such huge money get generated? All the illegal transactions are taking place in the organisations and departments that are under him, the Bengaluru development, and water resources. Whatever is happening here is shameful. It is a pity as I don't know if Siddaramaiah has the power to control all this. He preaches the country and claims his administration is clean and pro-poor. Now, why did he fail to stop these irregularities? In Telangana, a person who was minister (Zamer Ahmed Khan) in Kumaraswamy’s cabinet thinks there is no other business for us other than discussing Tipu (Sultan) day and night,” charged the veteran.
Recalling an incident of a royal from Oman gifting him a gold sword, Gowda said, “I have no hesitation to say I worship Lord Rama. There is no question of disbelief. The sword I got as a gift from a Sultan, I donated to a Ram temple in Bengaluru after paying the taxes. I have devotion and belief. The sword was gifted by a Muslim. We worship Lord Rama. But that does not mean, the one who is in power should not protect other communities if they are feeling threatened. During Eidgah maidan communal row, I handled it meticulously. As prime minister, I visited Ajmer Dargah, Golden Temple, and Tirupati. The communists asked me how can you visit a temple as the PM. I told them it was because I believed in god but that would not come in the way of me discharging my duties as a PM. I have always been impartial. So today, as an NDA partner, it is my duty to oppose the Congress that is indulging in vindictive politics.”
Earlier, Gowda drew a parallel between Modi and Siddaramaiah and said, “On one hand, we see Modi chanting the name ‘Sri Rama’, and is going to fast and take a dip in Sarayu river (for the consecration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya). Here, we see the Congress, in the name of ‘Siddarama’, they are creating these (false cases), in the hope of winning 20 seats after defeating the NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. But it will remain only a dream. It is not possible in this state as people will support Modi exceeding all our expectations.
