Deve Gowda had never sought Rajya Sabha seat, says Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy
Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy has clarified that former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda never asked
Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy has clarified that former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda never asked their alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party, for ticket to contest the Rajya Sabha elections. Fielding queries during an interaction at Thaggahalli village in Srirangapatna, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the Congress leaders were making unnecessary statements regarding the Rajya Sabha ticket issue and displaying unwarranted sympathy towards Mr. Deve Gowda. âDid Mr. Deve Gowda ask for it (Rajya Sabha seat)?â he asked, while pointing out that the BJP had 60 MLAs and the JD(S) is not concerned about it. Kumaraswamy, however, slammed the Congress for attempting to create a divide between the alliance partners by its âsudden sympathyâ for the former Prime Minister.
Referring to observations in certain quarters that Mr. Deve Gowda could have raised a voice for Karnataka if he were sent to the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he does not need to be in power to raise his voice. âHis voice will be heard even if he is not in power,â he remarked. âMr. Deve Gowda is a fighter. He has never craved power. When his self-respect was hurt, he even gave up the post of Prime Minister. Does the Congress not know this?â he asked. Kumaraswamy also sought to clarify that Mr. Deve Gowda had not entered the Rajya Sabha during the previous elections because of the Congressâs support.
âNo party then had sufficient strength to field and elect its own candidate against him. Our party had the required numbers, and that is how Mr. Deve Gowda was elected to the Rajya Sabha,â he said. Reacting to observation in certain quarters about the loss of a seat for a Vokkaliga, Mr. Kumaraswamy remarked: âWhat is the need for a Rajya Sabha seat when Karnataka has a Vokkaliga Chief Minister? Let us wait for two months and see what happensâ. âCrocodile tearsâ Meanwhile, launching a counter-attack at the Congress for terming Mr. Deve Gowda not getting to contest the Rajya Sabha polls as the BJP heaping humiliation on the nonagenarian leader, BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra asked the Congress to desist from âshedding crocodile tearsâ over Mr. Gowda.
He also accused the Congress of trying to drive a wedge between the BJP and JD(S). âIt is the Congress that haunted Mr. Deve Gowda throughout his political career and tried to divide his party. It is really a joke that after all these, the Congress leaders are showing artificial concern towards Mr. Deve Gowda,â he said.