New Delhi, Feb 8 (UNI) Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Thursday asked Indian National Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge whether his party would “tolerate” him as the Prime Minister of the country.
“Mr Kharge, do you want to become the Prime Minister of this country? Will the Congress tolerate it? Please tell me. I know the Congress,” Deve Gowda said in the Rajya Sabha, looking at Kharge.
The Ex-PM posed this question to Kharge, who had remarked during the farewell to retiring members of the Rajya Sabha, that the ex-PM changed his political course in the fag end of his life.
Taking exception to Kharge’s remarks, Gowda said his support to the BJP was to save his party from the Congress which wants to destroy it.
“I want to save my party. Whereas, some Congressmen want to destroy the party. I have decided to support the BJP. This is the only reason.”
Gowda acknowledged Kharge’s honesty and the support given to him during his political career. But he blamed some Congress leaders for the fall of the Congress-JDS government led by his son HD Kumaraswamy in 2019.
He claimed that the Congress high command insisted on Kumaraswamy becoming the chief minister, but he had suggested Kharge’s name for the coveted post.
However, other Congress leaders removed Kumaraswamy as the chief minister within 13 months of the formation of the JDS-Congress government, Deve Gowda disclosed.
He added: “This is not for personal gain. The love and affection shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only thing that I have received as a personal benefit from the Prime Minister.”
Deve Gowda said he told Kumaraswamy to join the BJP because the Congress would not allow him to grow.
He also claimed that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had cried for the mistake of top Congress leaders.
“A person who ruled this country for ten years, who saved the country from the debt trap, Who served the country with complete honesty. He cried when the 2G spectrum was being discussed in the Lok Sabha,” he stated.
