The former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda said he would not like to re-enter national politics for the time being and would remain confined to Karnataka till the BJP government is removed.
Mr. Gowda, who met top Communist Party of India (CPI) leaders D. Raja and A.B. Bardhan over dinner on Sunday, told The Hindu on Monday that he did not wish to re-enter national politics at this stage, as Karnataka was being ruled by the “worst possible government he has seen in 53 years of his political life.”
It may be mentioned here that Mr. Bardhan had called upon Mr. Gowda to lead the farmers’ and workers’ struggle at the national level instead of restricting himself to State politics.
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Mr. Gowda said he brought to the notice of the CPI leaders, whom he described as his “old friends,” the maladministration in the State and the ruthless manner in which the farmers were being treated. “The government has put behind bars several innocent farmers, including women,” he said.
Though the JD(S) was for the removal of the BJP government, Mr. Gowda said his party is not in a position to do it on its own. “It [the removal of the BJP government] has to be done jointly with the Congress,” he said. It was in this context that the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had entered into a seat sharing understanding with the Congress, during the recently held elections to the 25 legislative council seats from local bodies, he added.
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“Courtesy visit”
Meanwhile, Secretary of the National Council of CPI, D. Raja, described his and party colleague A.B. Bardhan’s meeting with Mr. Gowda on Sunday as a “courtesy visit” in which politics in Karnataka also came up for discussion.
When asked if their overtures to Mr. Gowda to lead the national struggle of farmers and workers were intended to revive the Third Front, Mr. Raja said the JD(S) chief was with them though “there is no Third Front as such.”