In an attempt to quell the recent controversy surrounding his remarks about a potential alliance between Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), party chief HD Deve Gowda issued a clarification. This clarification followed strong denials from CPI(M) leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who refuted having supported the alliance.
The controversy began when Deve Gowda suggested that Pinarayi Vijayan had given “full concurrence” to his party regarding an alliance with the BJP. However, Vijayan promptly denied this claim in a strongly-worded response.
Seeking to address the situation, HD Deve Gowda took to social media to explain the context of his earlier statement. He emphasized that his remarks were related to the alliance of his party’s unit in Kerala with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. Deve Gowda expressed his desire for better communication within the alliance and wished that the CPI(M) leaders had chosen their words more carefully or sought clarification.
“I only said my party unit in Kerala is getting along with the LDF government as things within my party units outside Karnataka remain unresolved after our alliance with the BJP. I wish CPI(M) leaders had chosen their words better or had sought clarification,” Deve Gowda clarified, seeking to ease tensions in the political arena.
The controversy arose when, during the removal of CM Ibrahim as the Karnataka chief of JD(S), Deve Gowda talked about Pinarayi Vijayan’s supposed “concurrence” with the BJP-JD(S) alliance. The two parties maintain an alliance in the state of Karnataka. “Kerala’s Left government’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has given full concurrence to move forward in Karnataka with the BJP to save the party. This is the position,” he had stated, as reported by PTI.
In response, Pinarayi Vijayan refuted Deve Gowda’s claim, describing it as baseless and devoid of truth. He urged Gowda to correct his statement and clarified that the Kerala state unit had made its opposition to the party’s alliance with the BJP abundantly clear.
Vijayan further pointed out that this was not the first time Deve Gowda had associated with the BJP. He recalled a similar alliance in 2005 when the JD(S) partnered with the BJP, emphasizing that Gowda had abandoned his ideology and joined hands with the BJP to secure a ministerial post for his son.
The clarification from HD Deve Gowda aims to put the controversy to rest and reaffirm the alliances within his party’s units, both in Karnataka and beyond.
Sources By Agencies