Bengaluru: Taking a dig at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for terming the JD(S) as the BJP's ‘B’ team, JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda said on Wednesday that Siddaramaiah himself wanted to join hands with the BJP in 2004, just to become Chief Minister.
“While he was in the JD(S), he realised that he would not become CM if we went with the Congress. He even suggested to me to join hands with the BJP so that he could become Chief Minister. Now in the last two months, he is desperately trying to prove that we have joined hands with the BJP just to polarise minority community votes in favour of the Congress,” Mr Gowda said.
When asked if corruption involving national parties would become a poll issue, Mr Gowda said his son and JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy was focussing on problems faced by the common people, instead of concentrating on the corruption involving party leaders.
“The Congress has given the ticket to Mr Ashok Kheny(of NICE) while the BJP gave seats to the illegal mining 'tainted' Reddy brothers. Mr Yeddyurappa (BJP state president) was charged by the Lokayuta on various charges of corruption. Mr Siddaramaiah is smart. He diluted the Lokayukta itself and formed the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). This is all difference between our party and the others,” he added.
