Former Prime Minister, H D Deve Gowda, on Saturday, said that it will take more than RSS and BJP workers to elect Narendra Modi as prime minister. 

“The people of this country will elect the next prime minister. They (BJP and RSS) claim that he is the choice of the nation. Whether he is the choice of the nation, the BJP or the RSS, answers will come after the general election results are announced. There is still seven to eight months for the elections. We will see,” Gowda said, adding Modi becoming the prime minister is not so easy, as the two national parties alone cannot be the deciding factor.

On Modi polarising the votes, Gowda said that it was impossible. “The nation is too big for polarisation. Nobody will allow the minorities to live like  second-class citizens. There have been examples wherein incidents have occurred under Congress regime in the states across the country. What is to say about the Congress?” questioned Gowda, who recalled the Staines murder case in Odisha and the rape of nuns in Madhya Pradesh in the late 90s and early 2000.

Peaceful protest

Earlier, Gowda said he will be leading a peaceful protest on Monday in front of the Chikmagalur Deputy Commissioner (DC) office, agitating against the alleged ‘unlawful’ arrest of 32 farmers and the forest department’s alleged ‘encroachment’.

“I have toured those villages in Doddaneguddi, as many as 37 of them, and found that there are several pockets where the farmers have been wrongfully denied land which they are using for farming. I will go to Chikmagalur on Monday and collect the facts,” he said.

Falling under ‘his’ Lok Sabha constituency, Gowda said that the arrests and the forest department drive appear to be politically motivated.

“My opponents are trying to undermine me by raising issues, six months before the Lok Sabha elections. This is a politically motivated move which is spearheaded by certain powerful people,” he added, refusing to divulge any names of his opponents.