Former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha MP HD Deve Gowda has responded to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s jibes about “marriage” and “love.” The Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition had, in a light-hearted remark, said that he had a long association with Deve Gowda but did not understand why the latter had “married” PM Modi (referring to his alliance with the BJP) even though he was “in love” with Congress.
Responding in kind, Deve Gowda said he had entered into a “forced marriage” with Congress but had to “divorce” them because it had become an “abusive relationship.”
Deve Gowda further said it was the Congress party which abandoned him and he had to go with the BJP for a stable coalition.
"My dear and longtime friend, Mallikarjun Kharge, made a light-hearted comment in Parliament today about me having been in "love"with them (Congress) but "married" Modi Ji (BJP) eventually. He also said he did not know the reason as to why I did so... If I were to respond to my friend in the same language of marriage, I would like to say that I was in a "forced marriage" with the Congress but had to "divorce" them because it was an abusive relationship... I did not desert the Congress alliance. It is they who walked away. They left me with no choice but to "divorce" them and seek a more stable alliance..." reads the statement by the former PM.
JDS and shifting allegiances
The Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) was in a coalition with the Congress in Karnataka from 2018 to 2019, forming the government under HD Kumaraswamy. This alliance ended when the coalition collapsed in July 2019. Later, the JDS shifted its stance and joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the central level in 2023, marking a strategic political alignment with the ruling coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
JDS HD Kumaraswamy is now a Cabinet Minister in the PM Modi-led government.
