Karnataka - Bangalore

Party building has suffered a setback, says Deve Gowda

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Janata Dal (Secular) President H.D. Deve Gowda on Sunday admitted that the parting of ways with the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the move to suspend him and eight others had been a setback for the party-building exercise.

Speaking to presspersons after deliberations with the district-level party leaders on the upcoming taluk and zilla panchayat elections, Mr. Deve Gowda said he had been facing "some problems" but none of them was insurmountable. Assuming a very tolerant and benign attitude, he said: "I'll be the happiest person if he wins," and reminded him that the chance to become Chief Minister had been offered to him on a golden platter, and it would have become a reality sooner or later.

But Mr. Siddaramaiah went about declaring that Mr. Deve Gowda had indulged in nepotism and favouritism, and promoted his own sons and family and that party building was really family building. Mr. Siddaramaiah was no messiah of the backward classes or Dalits, and he was certainly not bigger than the party, or the community, Mr. Deve Gowda said.

He said the Janata Dal (S) had an agenda, a mission and he himself was committed to the reservation policy. An individual's exit did not make any difference to the philosophy of the party, he said.

Mr. Deve Gowda denied that he had showered praises on Mr. Siddaramaiah's budget and his claims about the revenue from VAT. In Parliament, he had only mentioned the scheme to offer rice at Rs. 3 a kg, and the farm loans being offered at 6 per cent interest. He had in fact drawn the attention of Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to the fact that the State's finances were not growing at 27 per cent as claimed, but 4 per cent in the negative. Mr. Siddaramaiah's successor, P.G.R. Sindhia had his task cut out, in allocating funds as per the commitment in the budget speech, he said.

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