Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda on Wednesday hit again at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over a light-hearted comment in Parliament, saying he was in a “compelled marriage” with the Congress and needed to “divorce” it because of an “abusive relationship”.
The alternate was triggered by a witty remark from Kharge throughout Rajya Sabha proceedings a day in the past that briefly lifted the temper within the Home. Taking a swipe at Gowda over his latest reward for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge mentioned the JD(S) patriarch appeared to hunt a “partnership” with the Opposition however a “marriage” with the BJP.
“Prem humare saath, shaadi Modi ji ke saath,” Kharge quipped, drawing laughter throughout the Home, with even the Prime Minister seen smiling.
Responding in a press release posted on X, Gowda adopted the identical metaphorical tone. “If I had been to reply in the identical language of marriage, I want to say that I used to be in a ‘compelled marriage’ with the Congress however needed to ‘divorce’ them as a result of it was an abusive relationship,” he mentioned.
Gowda additionally clarified that he was not current within the Home when Kharge made the comment, as he had travelled to Bengaluru for Ugadi celebrations.
RECALLS 2018 KARNATAKA POWER-SHARING ROW
Citing previous political occasions, Gowda pointed to the 2018 Karnataka authorities formation, when the Congress backed JD(S) chief and his son HD Kumaraswamy for the chief minister’s put up.
He mentioned senior Congress leaders, together with Ghulam Nabi Azad, had proposed Kumaraswamy’s title, a transfer he claimed he didn’t agree with. Gowda added that he had recommended Kharge’s title as an alternative within the presence of different leaders, together with Siddaramaiah.
Nonetheless, he mentioned the Congress management went forward with Kumaraswamy, resulting in what he described as a strained alliance.
‘CONGRESS WALKED AWAY, NOT ME’
Referring to the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition authorities in 2019, Gowda accused the Congress of failing to behave towards these chargeable for defections. “What number of Congress MLAs defected to the BJP and who despatched them throughout is now frequent data,” he mentioned.
Gowda asserted that he didn’t desert the alliance. “It’s they who walked away. They left me with no selection however to ‘divorce’ them and search a extra secure alliance,” he mentioned.
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