The former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, one of the leaders of the Janata Parivar comprising six parties at the national level, is keen on having a say in matters related to Karnataka and Kerala rather than claiming a position at the national level.
Refusing to identify the yet-to-be officially formed political entity as Janata Parivar, Mr. Gowda preferred to call it the “Third Force”, an alternative to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, in his conversation with The Hindu. Excerpts from the interview:
What will be your role in the new political dispensation at the national level?
I am not bothered about my position, as my dream of creating an alternative to the Congress and the BJP at the national level is finally realised.
I am 87 and will retire from politics by next Parliament election.
How do you envisage your role in the new formation?
I have made it clear to the leadership that the power to take decisions concerning Karnataka and Kerala units remains with me, just as Mulayam Singh Yadav, Nitish Kumar or Lalu Prasad Yadav enjoy the powers in their respective States.
Will you entertain leaders from other parties?
It is a hypothetical question. Those with an old association with the JP movement, who left our party after we formed the government with the Congress and the BJP, might return.
Will your family finally call the shots?
Our family neither fought for personal gain nor did it come in the way of leaders taking up issues.
