Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday attacked former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda in his home turf Hassan, saying the Janata Dal (Secular) supremo had “lost the morals of secularism” by “joining hands with communal forces”.
The era of Deve Gowda is over, Siddaramaiah said at a massive ‘Janakalyan Samavesh’ event held on Thursday. He said that he will join politics till his last breath. I am not against it. However, let’s not do revenge politics. Don’t say you will eliminate others politically,” Siddaramaiah said, attacking Gowda for his comments about ousting the Congress government in Karnataka.
“I want to say one thing to Deve Gowda. By joining hands with communal forces, they have lost the morality of keeping ‘secular’ in the name of their party,” the Chief Minister pointed to the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. “Dev Gowda used to say that he is a secular party… Before the last (Lok Sabha) elections, in 2019, you should listen to his speeches. He had said that the BJP would not return to power and if Modi became the prime minister, he would leave the country,” Siddaramaiah recalled.
He also accused Gowda and his son, Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy, of betraying BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. “In 2006, Kumaraswamy became the CM for the first time. But he cheated Yeddyurappa 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 the chief minister with our support. But he could not defend the government,” Siddaramaiah alleged.
On criticism against the guarantee schemes by the BJP and JD(S), Siddaramaiah said it was tantamount to opposing benefits extended to the poor. “We will continue the guarantee scheme until 2028, after that we will form the government and implement the guarantee scheme,” he said, “the government will not stop under any circumstances.
Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar tried to end the talks over differences between him and Siddaramaiah over ‘power sharing’ in Karnataka. “I am with Siddaramaiah today, tomorrow and till I die,” he said.
Although the ‘Public Welfare Program’ was organized jointly by KPCC and Swabhimani Okkuta, the program was initially planned to focus on Siddaramaiah due to the allegations against him. The state Congress decided to organize the event under the banner of the party along with the Sangh after various organizations of backward classes and supporters of Siddaramaiah announced the event.