ASSEMBLY POLL '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS '98
ARCHIVES

Infighting in Karnataka JD takes a turn for the worse

The ruling Janata Dal's internecine quarrels in Karnataka took a turn for the worse after 19 ministers sought the removal from the party of H D Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.

In what is construed as an indirect attack on Deve Gowda itself, the ministers petitioned Chief Minister J H Patel and state party president Siddaramaiah to "throw out from the party those responsible for the attack on Transport Minister P G R Sindhia at Friday's party rally".

The rally had provided a platform to Deve Gowda to launch a bitter attack on his the decision of his bete noire Union Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde to return to state politics. Deve Gowda's attack on Hegde diluted the purpose of the rally --- to protest against the Centre's decision to import raw silk into the country.

The rally, by party president Sharad Yadav, Patel, S R Bommai and Ram Vilas Paswan, was marred by two incidents: One was the attack on Sindhia because he had apparently told some of his constituents not to send anybody for the rally. The other was when the former prime minister angrily snatched the mike from Siddaramaiah to say he would not continue with the rally if the lorries carrying his supporters were not allowed in the city.

The police hotly denied that any lorry had been stopped on the outskirts of the city.

The ministers, while condemning the attack on Sindhia, released a copy of the letter to the media and said such an attack would not have occurred if the rally was truly organised by the party. In their opinion it was a "personality-based rally,'' a euphemism used to point a finger at Deve Gowda.

The petition to Patel also said that the party could not become the "personal property of anyone." The ministers have asked that a meeting of senior ministers be called immediately to discuss how "extra-constitutional authorities'' should be curbed in a democratic party.

The ministers have left little room for speculation though they named neither Deve Gowda nor Kumaraswamy. But, the inference is clear. "You know who is behind this attack and you also know whom we are referring to,'' a minister told Rediff-On-The-NeT.

It is fairly clear that the ministers, all of whom are confirmed Patel supporters, have declared open war against Deve Gowda. "It's too much. There is a limit to tolerate this hegemony of the father and the sons. We respect him as a leader of standing, but after his sons came into the picture, things have only deteriorated,'' a senior legislator said.

Among the ministers who signed the letter are those who belong to the same Vokkaliga caste as Deve Gowda. Those who signed the letter include Byre Gowda, Nage Gowda, M S Patil, C M Udasi, S S Patil, B L Shankar, Bache Gowda, Somanna, Jayaprakash Hegde, D Manjunath, Shankar Naik, B A Mohideen and A B Patil.

This is the first time ministers loyal to Patel have made such an open attack against Deve Gowda. In fact, ministers like Byre Gowda, Nage Gowda and other Vokkaliga ministers had not used such tough language earlier against Deve Gowda, though they had broken away from him after the latter got dissidents to try to dislodge Patel.

This appears a clear attempt to marginalise the former prime minister within the party. Though it isn't clear how Deve Gowda will fight back, it is fairly clear that the current battle for supremacy in the party may lead to a new equations in the politics of Karnataka, nine months before the assembly elections.

Interestingly, the backlash against Deve Gowda comes a few days after Patel had a closed-door meeting with Hegde. Asked by reporters earlier in the week, what that meeting was all about, Patel had said: "We are friends and Hegde is a statesman."

Deve Gowda pointedly referred to this statement of Patel at the Friday's rally and said: "Sometimes it is difficult to understand the tenor of his statement. I do not know whether it was said in a mocking manner or was it a certificate."

Tell us what you think of this report