Nearly a month after the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition crumbled due to the resignation of MLAs from both parties, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has gone all out to accuse his former party colleague-turned-rival, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, of being responsible for the collapse of the coalition government.
Excerpts from the interview:
What went wrong for the JD(S)-Congress coalition?
Congress’s intention was to keep the BJP out, but Siddaramaiah could not reconcile with the decision. The fight was between him and H.D. Kumaraswamy, and it became difficult for him to see Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister. He was hurt and angry. His resolve to destroy JD(S) became stronger after his defeat in Mysuru [Chamundeshwari].
Do you hold Siddaramaiah solely responsible for the coalition’s failure?
Siddaramaiah was not consulted by either Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi before they decided on the coalition. His own followers [Congress rebels] have on record stated that he was responsible for my defeat as well as my grandson’s defeat in Lok Sabha polls. Have they given notice to those in the Congress who worked against us? At present, there is nobody who can contest or fight against Siddaramaiah within the Congress.
Why would he do that?
Siddaramaiah’s aim was to have B.S. Yediyurappa as Chief Minister and become Leader of Opposition. He and Yediyurappa have worked together in the past. Except for going to Ballari [padayatra against illegal mining], what had he done as Leader of Opposition? Who fought Mr. Yediyurappa’s government? The real fighter was Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah showed only tokenism.
But he has been opposed to the JD(S) ever since his exit more than a decade ago.
That Siddaramaiah wants to damage JD(S) is not new. He had taken away eight of our legislators during the Rajya Sabha elections in 2016. In fact, his exercise to damage our party started in 2004, with the help of former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna. In AHINDA conventions, Congress leaders attacked me even while the N. Dharam Singh-led Congress-JD(S) coalition was in power, and Siddaramaiah was Deputy Chief Minister. This had led to his expulsion from the JD(S)... He is angry with me for not making him the Chief Minister in 1996 when I left for Delhi to take over as Prime Minister, and again in 2004 when the coalition was formed. The interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi has to clarify now how much I attempted to make him the Chief Minister in 2004. I had even declined a request from S.M. Krishna to allow him to continue as Chief Minister, for his [Siddaramaiah’s] sake.
What was the fallout?
The consequences of his attempts to destroy us brought down the Congress’s strength in the Assembly from 130 to 79. What happened to Shaadi Bhagya and all other bhagyas? What happened to AHINDA? Misled by him, Rahul Gandhi called us the BJP’s B team in Hassan.
The consequences were that Hassan went to the BJP, and in local elections the BJP won 14 seats for the first time. If the BJP is threatening to enter Hassan and Mandya, it is again because of him. He indirectly helped the BJP-supported Independent candidate [Sumalatha] in Mandya.
Have you tried to reach out to him in the recent past?
Believe me, I went to him twice requesting a joint tour of the State after the coalition was formed. I asked him to forget the past. But, it did not happen.
What is the current arrangement with the Congress? If there is a bypoll, will both parties come together?
There is no communication with the Congress, and I don’t think Kumaraswamy will also do it. What Siddaramaiah says is that they have lost the polls having gone with Deve Gowda [laughs]. No local leader is ready to talk. Siddaramaiah wants to show his strength. However, if Sonia Gandhi speaks on seat-sharing in bypolls, then it will be a different thing.
