Kharge slams Deve Gowda for writing foreword on book on PM Modi

Kharge claimed Gowda was worried that he was not arrested during Emergency while his party associates were put behind bars. He claimed Gowda then asked then Karnataka Chief Minister Devaraj Urs why he was not arrested.

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took potshots at former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda for writing a foreword to a book chronicling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's experiences during the Emergency.

Kharge, who was a Minister of State in Karnataka during the Emergency, claimed that Gowda was “worried” that he was not arrested during the early days of the Emergency while his party associates were put behind bars. He claimed Gowda then asked then Karnataka Chief Minister Devaraj Urs why he was not arrested.

His remarks came as he was asked about Gowda writing the foreword to the book Emergency Diaries: Years that Forged a Leader. "Does the book provide any reference to RSS role in Independence struggle or Emergency? Does it refer to a letter by RSS Sarsanghchalak Balasaheb Deoras to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi?" he asked.

It is claimed that Deoras in a letter requested the Prime Minister to Jan Sangh and RSS leaders jailed during the Emergency and in return offered support for implementing the Emergency’s goals.

In his forward to the book, Gowda has written, "during the emergency, I was a young non-Congress politician but people like Narendra Modi were even younger. While we were in prison, people like him who were into social work built a formidable network of communication and resistance. For a young man like him to witness such a turbulent phase in our history, I am sure, was not just eye-opening and educative but also shaped his future and politics."

Recalling his days during the Emergency, Gowda said he suffered personally as a leader of Opposition in Karnataka. "I was arrested but this arrest did not weaken me. It became a great opportunity to learn and come in contact with a diverse set of leaders from across the country," he said.