Congress has criticised Janata Dal Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, after the former revealed that his father was offered a bribe for defence deals. Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary questioned why the statement by Kumaraswamy was being aired in the media after over a decade.
Different options to defuse the crisis threatening the existence of the coalition had reportedly emerged at the Gowda-Gandhi meeting but both parties have remained tightlipped on the outcome of the talks.\n\n
Was C M Ibrahim's Rediff Interview the last straw for Deve Gowda?
Hassan seat, has become a bone of contention, as Gowda's daughter-in-law Bhavani Revanna, who has thrown her hat in the ring, has not relented, despite her brother-in-law Kumaraswamy, repeatedly making it clear that she will not be fielded, and instead a 'loyal party worker' will enter the fray.
Moves are being made by senior leaders of Janata Dal (Secular) for his expulsion from the party.
Slamming Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh's reply in Parliament on farmers' suicide, Deve Gowda said it was the worst statement made by the agriculture minister.
Gowda's remarks targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party leader came over the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Project, promoted by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise during a farmers stir against NICE at Hemmigepura village near Bengaluru, in which he is taking part, "to demand justice" for them.
He said the Congress not only humiliated his party leaders but also tried to engineer defections and bring about a split.
Asserting that the JD-S does not practice opportunistic politics, Gowda while defending the decision to ally with the BJP said, "This party has to be saved, which has been his pain and struggle for decades, and there is no selfishness in this....I took the decision."
Devegowda was ousted on account of 'anti-party' activities.
Ali said the JD-S did not have a large organisational structure in Uttar Pradesh, which sends most lawmakers to the Parliament.
Interestingly, so far Deve Gowda's JD-S is not the target of the attack by the BJP. Come mid-May, he hopes he will once again play the role he has played before.
'My party has taken the decision to vote against the motion of no-confidence and it remains unchanged. The nuclear deal is not the reflection of the nation's mood. It does not represent the people's wish,' he said.
Calling former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led party "communal" following its alliance with the BJP, he urged Janata Dal-Secular, to remove the word 'Secular' from its name.
'There are several people connected to this (sexual abuse cases), I don't want to take anyone's names. Kumaraswamy has said that those who are involved in this matter, action should be taken against all of them, and the affected women should get justice and compensation'
'In Kerala, we are part of the government and our MLA is a minister there. These units understood the situation that made us to go with the BJP and supported our move. Our minister in the Left party's government (K Krishnankutty) in Kerala has given consent to us'
With opinion polls predicting a hung assembly in Karnataka and the possibility that the JD-S could be the 'king maker' after the polls, H D Deve Gowda stays mum about his party's post-election strategy.
Ending the suspense about the Hassan seat, the party has fielded H P Swaroop, overlooking JD-S patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda's daughter-in-law Bhavani Revanna, who had been firm on contesting from there.
With the family patriarch ageing, his successor H D Kumaraswamy not keeping well, and palpable anger against his other son H D Revanna in the family pocket borough of Holenarsipura, the clan is seemingly in decline.
Gowda said he would not comment on or criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi unless the latter traded charges against him.
The JD-S supremo reiterated that his grandson should be given the harshest punishment under the law "if found guilty".
Gowda explained that G T Devegowda intended to say that the JD-S would not oppose every move of BJP just for the heck of it.
Earlier, I had asked for 12 seats. At the meeting, I requested Rahulji to give at least 10 seats to the JDS, Gowda told reporters.
JD-S sources read it as an attempt by Modi to sow seeds of doubt in the Opposition ranks.
The court remanded him to judicial custody for seven days till May 14.
XLII additional chief judicial magistrate K N Shivakumar discharged H D Revanna from the case registered in Holenaraseepur town police station, Hassan district.
Setting the stage for the revival of an united front against the BJP, Naidu claimed the mood of the nation was against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and soon an alliance would be formed with various regional parties.
The JD-S, which has 34 seats in the assembly, is not in a position to win a seat in Rajya Sabha on its own and will need support from the Congress with its surplus votes. A minimum of 44 votes are required for candidates to win. If he wins, this will be the second Rajya Sabha entry for 87-year-old Gowda, the first time being in 1996 as PM.
Even as Janata Dal-Secular leader Veerendrakumar says that he will vote against the United Progressive Alliance in the trust vote even if a whip to support the motion is issued, the JD-S camp in Bengaluru maintains that the party is united and there will be no difference of opinion.
'There are many options before opposition parties and this nation has a wealth of leadership.'
Gowda said that the JDS has only joined hands with the BSP which will continue in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Former MP and suspended Janata Dal-Secular leader Prajwal Revanna was on Friday convicted by a Special Court here in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him.
Hailing former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, calling him a "role model", he also advocated for more women representation in the assembly.
Karnataka Legislative Assembly Secretary M K Vishalakshi, who is the returning officer for the Rajya Sabha polls, declared the 'unanimous election' of Gowda and Kharge from the Janta Dal-Secular and the Congress respectively, and BJP's Iranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti, with no extra candidate in the fray.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy is Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy's son. He is also former prime minister H D Devegowda's grandson. Nikhil will contest the May 10 assembly election in Karnataka from the Ramanagara constituency.
Assisted by his personal staff and gunmen, Gowda, with a cannula on his right hand, attended multiple election meetings on Tuesday and addressed people sitting in his chair as he cited knee pain.
'Kumaraswamy is not officially the leader of the opposition. For three years and eight months of Yediyurappa's government, Siddarmaiah will officially be the leader of the opposition'
Suspended Janata Dal-Secular leader and MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexually abusing several women, was on Tuesday defeated in the Hassan Lok Sabha segment, by a margin of 42,649 votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Rajya Sabha to honour 59 retiring members, emphasising their contributions to national life and urging them to continue their service.
Congress has propped up Vice-President Hamid Ansari's name for a second term and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has begun the exercise of soliciting support for his candidature.
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