Some rulers bring peace and prosperity to the country. Some just ruin. To the latter category belong our present State politicians. Since 2004, they have been playing the dirty politics for their own good under the excuse that neither the MLAs nor the people of Karnataka want another election so soon because of the fractured mandate with no party getting the magic number 113 to form the government. The Congress - led UPA at the Centre may indeed decide to allow Yeddyurappa to form the BJP - led government thus allowing the new government to commit harakiri instead of doing that job itself and take a bad name.
The way JD (S) supremo H. D. Deve Gowda is going about tying a noose around the yet-to-be born government indicates that he has something else in his mind which does not augur well for the survival of this coalition government if and when it happens. For H.D. Deve Gowda it has always been I, me and myself. Where he does not get the levers of power in his hand, he is not - inclined to be there. So he has come up with his latest magnacarta of 12 conditions that will pre - empt survival of the government for the remaining 19 months. If the government collapses before its time because of Deve Gowda, take it on my own authority that JD (S) too will collapse in the next election allowing the supremo time to sulk and live on health tablets, not on power as he does now.
Deve Gowda seems to take vicarious pleasure in splitting political parties and ruining political careers of those who worked with him. The list is really big, but few can be mentioned. Topping the list is, of course, Ramakrishna Hegde who in fact stood by him when he was in the dumps. Siddharamaiah was the latest one. Or is it M. P. Prakash? For details, here is the checklist as reported in a newspaper.
Gowda’s track record:
* In the 70’s, Gowda forced CM Veerendra Patil to leave the party by splitting the Janata Party.
* As a Cabinet Minister, Gowda rebelled with 19 MLAs and brought down the Bommai government; this led to a split in the party.
* In 1989, he formed a new political outfit — Samajawadi Janata Party (SJP) - by splitting the Janata party.
* As Chief Minister in 1994, Deve Gowda split S. Bangarappa’s Karnataka Congress Party (KCP) by poaching six of its 10 MLAs.
* Though Union Minister Lalu Prasad was instrumental in making Gowda Prime Minister in 1996, he ordered a CBI inquiry into Lalu’s affairs, forced him to leave the party and this resulted in a split in the national Janata Dal.
* In 1997, Gowda tried to split the Congress even though it supported him when he became PM. He also tried to foist murder charges on the then AICC (I) President Sitaram Kesari.
* Former CM Ramakrishna Hegde was forced to leave the Janata Dal, resulting in a split in the party and the emergence of the Lok Shakthi.
* Now, his son H. D. Kumaraswamy has followed in Gowda’ s footsteps and succeeded in poaching three JD (U) and two BJP MLAs.
In the recent political developments, he has done everything that is favourable to him personally — to his family (read sons) and his party, JD(S). He fooled Congress by enabling his son to form the coalition government with the BJP on the lame excuse that Congress was trying to purchase JD (S) MLAs. Here, his secular principles became less important to him than the interests of his son H. D. Kumaraswamy. No wonder he shed crocodile tears for loss of secular virtue but yet did not take action against the renegade son and JD (S) MLAs.
Second time he fooled Congress when he acted with lightening speed from Delhi the moment he learnt JD (S) leader M. P. Prakash was trying to form a government with Congress support (either from inside or outside) and by hijacking maximum number of JD (S) MLAs who were not for election. The meeting of M. P. Prakash with Deve Gowda’s bete noire was just the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
Similarly he fooled the BJP twice. Once when JD (S) refused to transfer power as per agreement. Second time when JD (S) came back to BJP with open arms to embrace it and the power hungry BJP fell for the lethal embrace. See, how BJP is now in a state of suspended animation just like the State Assembly under the President's rule. Pity the BJP that agreed in haste for a second marriage with JD (S) and now seems to be repenting at leisure.
H. D. Deve Gowda has also succeeded in the process in preventing the imminent split of the JD (S) by weaning away the fence sitters and those willing MLAs, from shifting to the camp of M. P. Prakash. Of course, this camp is as good as dead.
Indeed, H. D. Deve Gowda has mastered the art, science, psychology and mathematics of politics as no Karnataka politician has. Otherwise, how could he have become the Prime Minister of our country with just 16 MPs in a Parliament of about 543 MPs? He has indeed done us, Kannadigas, proud!
And finally a word of unsolicited advice to his son H. D. Kumaraswamy who, when he reaches the age of 60, will become the Prime Minister of our country according to a famous astrologer Shantharam Somayaji and also Kodi Mutt Swamiji.
This is the right time for Kumaraswamy to cut the parental umbilical cord to save the JD (S) for the future, at least in Karnataka as a regional party like DMK in Tamil Nadu and Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh. As an all India party, JD (S) anyway is just a shadow. Or is it a phantom? So far, his father has done this task successfully by saving JD (S), under all adverse circumstances, not only for the State of Karnataka but also for his own family. Now Kumaraswamy should don his father’s mantle and workout his own political road - map free from his father’s shadow. In future, with his father at the helm, the party will not have any credibility either with the MLAs or with the voters. This does not augur well for JD (S) in the next election. The future of JD (S) now lies in the hands of Kumaraswamy.
K. B. Ganapathy
Editor in Chief
Star of Mysore
Mysore
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