'Only God can save Karnataka': Deve Gowda slams state govt, urges PM Modi to help revive industries

Deve Gowda added that he had advised his son to support Modi and the BJP.

Slamming the Congress-ruled Karnataka government for its 'negligence' toward the industrial sector, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Monday urged the Modi government to take steps to revive industries in the state.

Participating in the discussion on the Appropriation Bill (No. 2) in the Rajya Sabha, the Janata Dal (Secular) leader said he was “not a power-hungry politician” and had rejected demands by some that his party be merged with another.

He also appealed to members of various parties not to attack the Prime Minister over the LPG shortage, stating that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi could guide the world on how the West Asia crisis should be resolved.

Urging the Prime Minister to take steps to revive industry in Karnataka, Gowda said, “Do something for Karnataka. Don’t worry about this Karnataka government.”Referring to the state of affairs in Karnataka, he added, “How things are going in Karnataka, only God will save Karnataka. Save the country through the leadership of our great leader Narendra Modi sahab.”

Gowda said when his son, Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister of the state, he set up industrial clusters in seven districts of Karnataka. After he demitted office, only one small unit remained.

Reacting to a recent statement by the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, made while bidding farewell to retiring members, Gowda said, “I was elected from the surplus votes of both Congress and BJP. It was Kharge who sent me a message saying I must contest the Rajya Sabha election. This is the fact, and I should not lie about it.”

“I suffered a lot in the Congress alliance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a mature leader, and I am in alliance with them because of him,” Gowda said.

Kharge, who is also the AICC President, had last week recalled his long association with Gowda in the Rajya Sabha. “I have known Deve Gowda for a long time—54 years—and have worked with him. But I do not know what happened. He fell in love with us, but married Modi sahab,” Kharge remarked, an analogy that made the Prime Minister, who was present in the House, laugh.

Referring to Kharge’s remarks, Deve Gowda said, “I don’t want to hurt the feelings of any party that was responsible for the removal of our government... I am not going to hurt your Leader of Opposition, Kharge sahab. We have worked together. I came to Parliament in 1962; he came in 1962 after the split.”

Deve Gowda added that he had advised his son, Kumaraswamy—currently the Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries—to support Modi and the BJP.