JOIN USGowda, Siddu come face-to-face
The occasion was to felicitate M Chandrashekar, former minister and leader of erstwhile Janata Dal, on his 80th birthday. P G R Sindhia and others had taken the initiative to felicitate Chandrashekar at Ravindra Kalakshetra.
Siddaramaiah after rebelling against Gowda nearly four years back and quitting the JD(S) to join the Congress, had never shared a dais with Gowda. Siddaramaiah, as he approached the dais, smiled at Gowda who just nodded in return. This gave room for lot of interpretation. However, both the leaders delivered speeches and left separately.
Sindhia, who succeeded in bringing the warring leaders to the function, said, “Today they have shared the dais. It may give way for future political developments. Let us see.” But Siddaramaiah refused to react.
For the just concluded Council elections, the Congress and the JD(S) had a seat-sharing arrangement. The JD(S) is keen on making efforts to form the government with the help of the Congress. Gowda had also announced that his party would not mind joining hands with the Congress to form the government if Siddaramaiah was to become the chief minister.
The felicitation programme had also brought a whole lot of Janata Parivar leaders together. Former minister Leeladevi R Prasad, B S Krishna Iyer and B L Shankar were among those present.
Earlier, the leaders showered praises on Chandrashekar, who was minister in the Hegde and Bommai Cabinets. He was also JD state president. The leaders said that Chandrashekar had imbibed the Gandhian and Vinoba Bhave’s values. Sahrudayi, a book on the life of Chandrashekar was released on the occasion.