Deve Gowda is in bad company and is hurling curses, says CM

Bengaluru: In a dig at the JD(S) and BJP alliance, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda was in bad company as he was uttering curses that the Congress party will see its end in Karnataka. Referring to Gowda’s statement on Friday at a press conference, the Chief Minister said regardless of political differences, elders should always bless the younger ones and not curse them.

“Former Prime Minister Shri H D Deve Gowda has stated that Congress party will see its end under my and D K Shivakumar’s leadership. Despite his curse, we wish him and his party long life and good health,” Siddaramaiah said on micro-blogging site ‘X’.

“I believe that Shri H D Deve Gowda, who had worn the crown of secularism for decades, is now forced to cast it aside and wear the crown of communalism. This is leading him to make such statements out of disappointment and despair,” he further said. “No political party should wish for the end of another political party. The BJP’s loose talk of making ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ seems to have influenced Deve Gowda too. This is the result of bad company,” he added.

The Congress stalwart said he ‘sincerely” wish that the Janata Dal (Secular) does not come to an end. However, blindly following BJP may result in otherwise. “Likewise, I hope Deve Gowda remains active in politics for a longer time. However, I wish that both JD(S) and their new ally BJP remain in the opposition permanently. Our Congress party will continuously strive to fulfill this wish. I have always said that the Janata Dal (Secular) is the ‘B team’ of BJP. I commend JD(S) for clarifying their ideological stance and for agreeing with my statement,” the Chief Minister said.

According to Siddaramaiah, this stance of JD(S) has prevented some secular voters from being misled by the secular facade of the party. He opined that the JD(S)-BJP alliance has turned the upcoming election into a direct confrontation between secular and communal forces. “I am confident that the voters of Karnataka, who have a tradition of secularism and harmony, will make the right choice in the next elections,” the Chief Minister said.

The JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year after a meeting Kumaraswamy, former Prime Minister Deve Gowda’s son, had with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national President J P Nadda in New Delhi.

The two parties have said they would fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka together. In the elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly in May last year, the JD(S) put up a poor show, winning only 19 seats. The Congress bagged 135 to wrest power in the state and the BJP won 66 seats.