<p>Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday said the biggest mistake he had committed in his political career was to make Siddaramaiah the deputy chief minister during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the State in 2004.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Reacting to the statement by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Karkala on Wednesday, Gowda said: “I do not care whether Siddaramaiah goes to Tirupati or elsewhere to wash away his sins, but the biggest mistake I made was to make him the deputy chief minister.”<br /><br />‘Non-entity’<br /><br />He said till Siddaramaiah became the deputy chief minister, he was a non-entity. “If he had not been made the deputy chief minister, who would have known him?” he asked.<br />The JD(S) national president said he would not seek the resignation of Siddaramaiah. <br /><br />“Let even D K Shivakumar be a minister for the next three years. Let Siddaramaiah give him the Excise portfolio also. I know the reasons why Satish Jarkiholi resigned as Excise minister,” Gowda said sarcastically.<br /><br />Regarding the Arkavathi Layout case, he said, “If the scenes of the BDA officials working behind locked doors had happened during my tenure, I would have ensured that they were arrested and jailed. This government is talking about transparency.”<br /><br />Internal politics<br /><br />Dwelling on the internal politics of JD(S) involving the party Gangavathi MLA Iqbal Ansari being seen with BJP MP B Sriramalu, Gowda said, “I should be cursing myself for making Ansari an MLA. What work does he have in Sriramalu’s house in Ballari?” he questioned.<br />The former prime minister said he would replace Ansari as the Koppal district unit president of the party.<br /></p>
<p>Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday said the biggest mistake he had committed in his political career was to make Siddaramaiah the deputy chief minister during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the State in 2004.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Reacting to the statement by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Karkala on Wednesday, Gowda said: “I do not care whether Siddaramaiah goes to Tirupati or elsewhere to wash away his sins, but the biggest mistake I made was to make him the deputy chief minister.”<br /><br />‘Non-entity’<br /><br />He said till Siddaramaiah became the deputy chief minister, he was a non-entity. “If he had not been made the deputy chief minister, who would have known him?” he asked.<br />The JD(S) national president said he would not seek the resignation of Siddaramaiah. <br /><br />“Let even D K Shivakumar be a minister for the next three years. Let Siddaramaiah give him the Excise portfolio also. I know the reasons why Satish Jarkiholi resigned as Excise minister,” Gowda said sarcastically.<br /><br />Regarding the Arkavathi Layout case, he said, “If the scenes of the BDA officials working behind locked doors had happened during my tenure, I would have ensured that they were arrested and jailed. This government is talking about transparency.”<br /><br />Internal politics<br /><br />Dwelling on the internal politics of JD(S) involving the party Gangavathi MLA Iqbal Ansari being seen with BJP MP B Sriramalu, Gowda said, “I should be cursing myself for making Ansari an MLA. What work does he have in Sriramalu’s house in Ballari?” he questioned.<br />The former prime minister said he would replace Ansari as the Koppal district unit president of the party.<br /></p>
