Deve Gowda hints at not contesting Lok Sabha polls
New Delhi : Indicating that he may not contest the upcoming parliamentary election, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said Friday that he expects to be given sufficient time to deliver probably his last speech in Parliament next week when the House takes up discussion on the interim budget.
The 85-year-old JD(S) chief also expressed anguish that he was not given enough time to speak in Lok Sabha during the debate on motion of thanks to the President's address on February 7 despite a request made to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Gowda said he would even request the Congress party to give some of its allotted time in the Lower House to him to complete his last speech.
"I am disappointed. I am not satisfied (with my speech on the President's address). Barely I had spoken for six minutes, the Speaker cautioned me to finish my speech. Still, I spoke for some more time but I was not satisfied," Gowda told reporters.
The JD(S) leader said that he had specially requested the Speaker to give him an opportunity to speak during the debate on the interim budget and motion of thanks on the President' Address as it might be his last speech in Parliament.
"I have never criticised anyone personally. I sought time to speak not to criticise anyone. I have governed the country for 320 days and people of this country do not know what I did. The sole intention was to share what I did when I was Prime Minister because I have may not come to Parliament again," he added.
Gowda, who led a coalition government for 10 months between 1996-97, hoped to get sufficient time on Monday to speak during the debate on the interim budget.
"I will request Congress leaders to give their time to me. Let's see if they will give," he said, adding that this could be his last speech in Parliament.
It may be noted that the former prime minister's grandsons are vying for party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Hassan, currently represented by him.
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Power struggle in ruling Cong has 'created massive confusion' in Karnataka: BJP leader Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday claimed that the ongoing power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar has created massive confusion in Karnataka.
He remarked that the proverb “when two people fight, the third one benefits” has come true, as AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge is also now making efforts to become Chief Minister.
Speaking to reporters here, Ashoka said the entire government has turned into a house of confusion due to the alleged power tussle.
Kharge’s new statement has only added to the chaos, he said.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had on Friday said that no date has been fixed yet to discuss possible leadership change in Karnataka.
This came a day after Kharge said there was no change of CM in Karnataka "for now" and that the leadership issue in the state would be resolved soon.
The BJP leader said that Kharge too has aspirations and that he was cheated earlier.
"Perhaps he has received a green signal from the Congress high command to become CM. Everyone is already saying Kharge should become CM. Kharge himself has declared, “I am ready to become CM.” Despite many attempts in the past, he never became CM. Now he is trying to seize the opportunity," the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly said.
According to him, the situation in Congress has perfectly become a case of “two people fighting, third one benefits.”
