Mandya

Union Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday accused the ruling Congress in Karnataka of attempting to weaken the BJP-JD(S) alliance by expressing sympathy over former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda not being renominated to the Rajya Sabha.

Kumaraswamy said the Congress was worried about the growing strength of the BJP-JD(S) partnership and its possible impact on the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections.

"Today, the Congress is shedding tears for Deve Gowda. Everyone knows how he was treated by the same party throughout his long political career. Their sudden concern is not genuine. They are nervous about the BJP-JD(S) alliance and the consequences it could have in the next Assembly elections. Their objective is to create divisions between us," Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

Questioning the criticism directed at the BJP, Kumaraswamy asked whether the JD(S) had ever demanded a Rajya Sabha seat for its patriarch.

"Did Deve Gowda or the JD(S) ask anyone for a Rajya Sabha berth? It was never our concern. The BJP has more than 60 MLAs. If we had gone around seeking a seat, what message would that have sent about Deve Gowda?" he said.

The controversy emerged after the BJP on Sunday nominated Prof. M. Nagaraja as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka. The decision disappointed sections within the JD(S), which had reportedly hoped that Deve Gowda would be re-elected to the Upper House.

The veteran leader's current Rajya Sabha term ends this month.

Defending Gowda's political legacy, Kumaraswamy said his father had never compromised his self-respect for positions of power.

"Even when he had the opportunity to remain Prime Minister for a full term, he chose to step down rather than continue under circumstances that hurt his dignity. Such a person would not fight for a Rajya Sabha seat. All he seeks now is good health and the blessings of God," he said.

Kumaraswamy also dismissed Congress leaders' claims that they had played a decisive role in facilitating Gowda's Rajya Sabha entry in 2020.

"How can they claim credit? Did they even have the numbers to elect another candidate?" he asked.

Recalling the circumstances surrounding the 2020 election, Kumaraswamy said that after the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, Gowda had little interest in contesting.

He alleged that the Congress had ensured Gowda's defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Tumakuru. Later, when Rajya Sabha polls were held, neither the BJP nor the JD(S) had sufficient numbers for an additional seat.

"At that time, then chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa said the BJP would not field another candidate and suggested that Gowda contest because his presence in Parliament was important. Deve Gowda himself was reluctant, but I persuaded him. It was the political situation that created the opportunity, not Congress support," Kumaraswamy said.

He also brushed aside Congress allegations that the BJP had insulted the Vokkaliga community by not renominating Gowda.

"When Karnataka already has a Vokkaliga chief minister, how can anyone claim injustice has been done to the community through a Rajya Sabha decision?" he asked in an apparent reference to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Responding to Shivakumar's recent remarks that he wished to meet all former chief ministers, including Kumaraswamy, to seek their guidance, the JD(S) leader was dismissive.

"What advice can I offer him? He says I was chief minister twice and asks what I achieved. If I have achieved nothing, what guidance can I possibly provide? What he really wants is a photograph for the newspapers," Kumaraswamy remarked.

He also took a swipe at Shivakumar's outreach to JD(S) workers, noting sarcastically that the Congress leader had "kept his doors open for the last fifty years."

Asked whether he aspired to become chief minister again if the BJP-JD(S) alliance forms the government after the 2028 Assembly elections, Kumaraswamy said his immediate focus was different.

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"More important than becoming chief minister is protecting my people. Strengthening the alliance is my priority," he said.