‘Abusive Alliance’: Deve Gowda Hits Back at Kharge
Former PM recalls 2019 Karnataka fallout, counters Congress chief’s ‘marriage’ jibe
- Deve Gowda calls 2019 Congress-JDS tie an “abusive relationship”
- Hits back at Kharge’s ‘love affair, marriage with BJP’ remark
- Recalls collapse of Karnataka coalition after MLA defections
- Blames Congress leadership for breakdown of alliance
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 18th March: Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda on Wednesday launched a sharp rebuttal to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, describing the 2019 alliance between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress as an “abusive relationship” that ended in a “divorce.”
The remarks came after Kharge, during his farewell speech in the Rajya Sabha, joked that the JD(S) had a “love affair” with Congress but ultimately “married” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering laughter in the House.
Responding through a detailed post on X, Deve Gowda said that if he were present, he would have replied in similar terms. “I was in a ‘forced marriage’ with the Congress but had to ‘divorce’ them because it was an abusive relationship,” he wrote.
Recounting the events leading up to the 2019 collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka, Deve Gowda claimed that the alliance was formed under pressure despite his reservations. He said that during the 2018 government formation, Congress leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad proposed H. D. Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister, although he had suggested Kharge’s name.
He further alleged that the Congress failed to prevent the mass defection of MLAs in 2019, which ultimately brought down the coalition government. “After all this… what did they do in 2019? They dumped us,” he said, referring to the exodus of legislators.
The crisis saw 17 MLAs—14 from Congress and three from JD(S)—resign, leading to the fall of the Kumaraswamy-led government after a trust vote. The Bharatiya Janata Party later formed the government under B. S. Yediyurappa.
The episode had sparked political controversy at the time, with opposition parties alleging “Operation Lotus” by the BJP, while JD(S) leaders also accused sections within the Congress, including Siddaramaiah, of undermining the alliance.
In 2023, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the JD(S) formally joined the NDA, marking a shift in its political alignment.
The latest exchange in the Rajya Sabha underscores lingering tensions over the 2019 Karnataka political crisis, even as senior leaders bid farewell to the Upper House.
