Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shot back at former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda a day after the latter took potshots at him while sharing stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mysuru on Sunday. Mr. Gowda had on Sunday said that “a Chief Minister representing six crore people should not question a Prime Minister who represents a hundred crore people.”
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In a statement on Monday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he was “both surprised and saddened” by the statement. Addressing Mr. Gowda, he said, “You have led a regional party for many years and have been a consistent critic of the Union government and Prime Ministers. Why, then, do you choose to adopt such a submissive stance at this stage in your life?”
He further said that we are part of a federal democracy where neither is the Prime Minister an autocrat, nor a Chief Minister a mere subordinate. “Both hold positions of equal stature, irrespective of their age,” he said. Mr. Siddaramaiah reminded Mr. Gowda that just a few months ago, his son H.D. Kumaraswamy used harsh language to criticise Mr. Modi.
He further said that it is everyone’s right to oppose and question the Union government and the Prime Minister when the State government is treated unfairly. He said that it was still “not too late” for Mr. Gowda to amend his ways and speak out against the “injustices inflicted on Kannadigas by the Union government.”