Deve Gowda: India’s Bloc, a Group of Groups Making Secularism Frivolous
Former prime minister and leader of the JD(S), H. D. Deve Gowda, said on Saturday that the INDIA bloc is a collection of organizations that have denigrated secularism.
He subtly attacked the INDIA bloc by reminding them that Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal and head of the TMC, served as the Railway Minister in the NDA administration led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In a similar vein, M. Karunanidhi, the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and father of M. K. Stalin, had six years of BJP membership. A minister in the Union government at the time was his son-in-law.
The India bloc includes the DMK and TMC.
We may provide several examples. When someone in this nation discusses so-called secularism, others dismiss it as a joke. The Chief of the NCP (SP), Sharad Pawar, has teamed up with Uddhav Thackeray, the former chief minister of Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, the speaker was a member of the Congress. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Gowda said, “I can cite multiple examples, and these developments don’t suit the real meaning of secularism.”
In response to the Congress’s accusation that his Janata Dal (Secular) had partnered with the communal BJP, the former prime minister inquired as to the number of states in which the venerable party now holds power. He joked that it’s just in Telangana, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.
The 90-year-old statesman gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a lot of appreciation as he is running for office a third time.
Modi is not the same as Vajpayee. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP under Vajpayee’s leadership was unable to win more than 180 seats; in contrast, Modi won 282 seats for the BJP by himself and more than 350 seats with the help of the NDA during his first term. According to Gowda, he is now hoping to surpass 400 seats with the partnership.
He said that other nations had acknowledged Modi’s leadership in addition to India.
The current climate, both within and outside of India, is such that people are aware of Modi. These individuals (opposition parties) talk about unimportant topics and lack a stance. I don’t want to treat them badly.
The seasoned politician said, “People will not take them seriously; it’s only for public consumption (attack on Modi).”
Gowda counseled the opposition parties to acknowledge that Modi is now the tallest leader, and that people have to accept this.
The former prime minister questioned Congress’s current strength and the number of seats they may anticipate in response to claims made by the party that during the last ten years there has been authoritarianism and that select “crony capitalists” have profited at the expense of the underprivileged and worthy.
“They failed to win the opposing party’s recognition in Parliament for two terms. Talking about the Congress party is pointless,” he said.
Regarding the JD’s and BJP’s seat-sharing arrangement in Karnataka for the impending Lok Sabha elections, Gowda said that his party has not imposed any restrictions.
The JD(S) patriarch said that his son would choose how things should develop, despite rumors that his son, former Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy, or his son, Nikhil Kumarswamy, may run in the Lok Sabha elections.
“I am unable to predict tomorrow’s events since Kumaraswmy is a leader in and of himself. His leadership is without reproach. He has to make a choice. He would have a thorough discussion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi about everything and come to an appropriate agreement, Gowda said.
