JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda rules out support to BJP

Speculations have been rife about the JD(S) extending support to the ruling BJP. Party supremo H D Deve Gowda has categorically denied such a possibility.

Commenting on reports in a section of media that he had assured Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa of his support over a telephone call, Deve Gowda told DH that it was a baseless allegation.

“I am planning to stage a dharna in front of Yediyurappa’s house protesting against the ruling party’s highhandedness. Where is the question of me talking to him over phone? I have made it clear that we will neither support the BJP nor the Congress,” he said.

Recently, Gowda’s son, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had stated that he would rather see the present government complete its tenure than let it collapse. This gave rise to speculation. Gowda said Kumaraswamy’s statement had been misconstrued and needed to be understood in its context.

“The party’s MLCs are feeling neglected. We need to reorganise and strengthen the party. This will take time. Congress leader Siddaramaiah might want elections now, but we cannot afford it,” he said.

He further stated that he was neither waiting for the BJP government to fall nor would he be worried if it indeed fell. “We have had bitter experiences in previous coalitions with both BJP and Congress. We do not want to repeat it.”

Party to protest

The former prime minister announced that he would stage a dharna in front of Yediyurappa’s house to protest against the highhandedness of the BJP government in Karnataka. “The police assaulted a party worker in Yadgir. Till date no action has been taken against the officials concerned,” he said.

He was referring to a recent incident where the JD(S) workers had staged a protest against Yediyurappa during his visit to Yadgir. Allegedly, the police took party worker Sharangouda Kandkur, a youth wing leader, into custody and assaulted him. Deve Gowda had demanded action against the police officials.

“Why does BJP put on an air that it does not demonstrate political vendetta when clearly such incidents reflect political highhandedness,” he said.

Meeting with MLCs

The party will organise a meeting on November 12 to sort out the internal issues, Gowda said. While earlier, the meeting was scheduled for November 4, it has been rescheduled until the return of H D Kumaraswamy, who is in London with his son.