Bengaluru, May 20: Former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, who had threatened to disown his son if the latter joined hands with the BJP, has now praised the efforts of H D Kumaraswamy and the Congress party in preventing the “communal forces” from surging ahead.
In an interview, the Janata Dal (Secular) supremo said that coalition with BJP in 2008 had tainted his son (Kumaraswamy). “Now am happy that he has now managed to cleanse himself. He was aware of how hurt I was with the arrangement in 2008 and was very conscious this time not to repeat his mistakes,” he said.
He also honestly admitted that he had not expected to get majority in 2018 assembly polls. “It’s true that I’d said that we would prefer to sit in the opposition if we don’t get to form the government, however, the context was different. Today, the emergent situation demanded that secular parties came together and I am happy that Congress acted swiftly and came forward to provide unconditional support,” he said.
He also revealed that the Congress high command had been preparing for all scenarios and the party’s senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad arrived in Bengaluru a day before the results. “They were in touch with me for a few days and their quick response on May 15, stemming from backroom discussions with JD(S), effectively managed to stump BJP’s immediate plans. The saffron party has since been on the backfoot,” he added.
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