Gowda says Cong shouldn't take his party for granted

Asserting his party’s position, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Saturday told his coalition partner, the Congress not to ignore or take his party lightly.

Addressing the media in Bengaluru, Gowda said that the Congress should not underestimate his party’s strength. “The Congress should treat us well and take us together. It should not ignore us just because we have won won two seats. The Congress should take into consideration our strengths. I still have the fighting spirit in me. I have overcome several setbacks,” he said.

Gowda was making an indirect reference to the tug-of-war between the two parties pertaining to seat sharing during the Lok Sabha polls.

While the JD(S) has demanded to contest 12 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress however isn’t too happy parting with so many seats.

When asked what the JD(S) would do if in case the Congress disagreed to yield to its demand, Gowda said, “We will not take any extreme step. We will resolve the issue with a cool head,” he added. Gowda also admitted that there was a bone of contention between the two parties pertaining to appointments to two to three statutory bodies.

He also acknowledged the spat between KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and his son and PWD Minister H D
Revanna.

“I have heard what both Rao and Revanna have said. It is true that we have issues with regarding to sharing two to three boards and corporations. In a coalition set up, it is best to resolve issues by holding talks. There is no point in getting emotional. These developments will however not hurt the government. This isn’t such a big problem. The matter will be resolved in a day or two,” he added.

“AICC general secretary K C Venugopal had assured to part with two to three more statutory bodies to the JD(S). However, the JD(S) has been left with unimportant statutory bodies, which get grants less than Rs 1 crore. What is the use?” he said.