JD(S) here to stay and will strive to come to power on own: Deve Gowda
Bengaluru: Rejecting speculation about his party's merger with the BJP, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Saturday asserted JD(S) was here to stay and would strive to come to power on its own in the 2023 assembly polls.
He also hit out at the Congress for questioning his secular credentials and blamed it for the collapse of the JDS-Congress government in Karnataka and leveled allegations against the party.
Breaking his silence on rumors about the merger with the saffron party, which he termed as an "entertainment program", the JD(S) patriarch said, with his clarification, the speculation should end.
"Since the last three months several things have been said about our party, it can be called an entertainment program.JD(S) is a regional party and the pain behind saving and building a regional party will only be known to its workers, office bearers, and its head," Gowda told reporters.
Claiming that political leaders were speaking about JD(S) irrelevance, the 87-year-old leader said no one can shake or remove his party so easily.
"It is not just Deve Gowda and his son, there are people to save this party not only during my lifetime but even after me," he added.
Amid rumors of a possible merger, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, also Gowda's son, and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had last week issued separate statements, dismissing it as far from the truth.
There has been speculation for some months now about the merger, with Kumaraswamy twice meeting Yediyurappa personally at his official residence and JD(S)' alleged softening of stand towards the ruling BJP in the state.
Also, JD(S) extending its support for the passage of the contentious land reforms bill in the Legislative Council after initially opposing it, and support to BJP in its no-confidence motion against the Council Chairman did add to the speculation.
To a specific question on the merger, Gowda said "Which astrologer has said it? ..these are childish talks...I was a former Prime Minister. Will I take my party to someone's doorsteps?"
Asked about the 2023 elections, Gowda said the JD(S) was working towards coming to power on its own.
"Congress is a big party and they have the strength to bring the party to power. I'm not saying we have that strength, but we will strive for it, and will not sit quietly.
There is no question.. we will fight to come to power.," he said.
Gowda hit out at the Congress party during the press conference.
"I can speak a lot about Congress.." he said, as he noted that he too was a Congressman in the past.
Stating that he had not gone to anyone's door asking for his son Kumaraswamy to be made the Chief Minister after the 2018 assembly polls, he said "I invited all the secular leaders of the country for swearing-in of (Congress-JDS government)-why? To give strength to the Congress that had lost strength in 18-20 states...Who destroyed it?"
Gowda hit out at the Congress, also Siddaramaiah, for trying to test his secular credentials.
"On the issue of removing the legislative council Chairman, a former Chief Minister who is also a senior Congress leader (Siddaramaiah) by taking my name has spoken about testing my secular stand (for supporting BJP's no-confidence motion)."
He claimed Chairman K Pratapachandra Shetty was ready to resign, but the Congress party to which he belongs was not allowing him, "because they want to test Gowda's secular credentials."
Gowda accused the Congress of misleading Muslims and trying to destroy JD(S)'s secular credentials.
"....none of them (Congress leaders) had gone to Godhra (immediately after riots). These people will save Muslims! They say in Parliament proceedings that theirs is soft Hindutva. Now I don't understand soft and hard Hindutva," he said.
"Rahul Gandhi, who is projected as the future Prime Minister of the country, during the poll campaign had said Deve Gowda's party is a B-team of BJP.
This was for a former PM," he said as he hit out at the state Congress leaders asking "who made him say this? Was their intention to save JD(S) or to finish it? and what was the outcome?"
On the political slugfest between Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah, Gowda said he has sought to put an end to the "entertainment program" from the JD(S) side.
"Let them build their party, let us build ours."
Gowda has convened a mega meeting of the JD(S) on January 7, 2021, at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru.
"Those whore honest will come, those who arent will go. This meeting will reveal the reality," he said.
He also said the JD(S) will have a core committee in place with 8-9 leaders and discuss revamping the party after January 15, aimed at strengthening it.
"We will save and build this party, a regional party is necessary for the country".
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Two-wheeler rider killed after ramming tanker near Arkula Bridge in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: A two-wheeler rider was killed on Sunday morning after his vehicle collided with a tanker from behind near Arkula Bridge, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Muhammad Ashfaq (22), a resident of Farangipete.
According to reports, the tanker was heading towards BC Road when the two-wheeler rammed into it from behind near a furniture shop close to Arkula Bridge. Ashfaq sustained severe injuries.
He was immediately shifted to a private hospital in Padil where he recived initial treatment. However, he succumbed to his injuries while being taken to another private hospital in the city for further treatment, police added.
Traffic police have registered a case in connection with the incident.
