'Congress Propaganda': Deve Gowda On Talks Of Muslim Leaders Quitting JD(S)

Amid the talks of Muslim leaders quitting JD(S), party chief HD Deve Gowda termed it Congress's 'propaganda'.

Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda.

Source : PTI

Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda reacted to talks of Muslim leaders quitting the party and termed it as Congress's "propaganda". This comes days after JD(S) announced its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The JD(S) had on September 22 joined hands with the BJP-led NDA to take on the Congress party in Karnataka in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy made the announcement of the tie-up after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the national capital. Responding to a query on Muslim leaders quitting the party, HD Deve Gowda said, "It is a negative propaganda made by Congress". 

VIDEO | "It is a negative propaganda made by Congress," says former PM @H_D_Devegowda on minority leaders quitting JD(S) over alliance with BJP. pic.twitter.com/RrHy2BPyA0

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 27, 2023

Addressing a press conference, the former Prime Minister said that the decision to ally with the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections was taken after consultation with his party colleagues. “Before allying with BJP, I took the views of our 19 MLAs and 8 MLCs who said that JD(S) should consider entering into an understanding with BJP,” Deve Gowda said, as quoted by the news agency ANI.

He said that he had not met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he had met Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time in the last 10 years. “We are not power-hungry politicians... I held a discussion with Home Minister Amit Shah for the first time in the last 10 years... I have not met PM Modi... I also explained the political situation in Karnataka to HM…” Deve Gowda said.

The JD(S) chief said that Kumaraswamy will join the sit-in protest against the State government by former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa over the Cauvery water-sharing issue near the Gandhi statue in Bengaluru today.

Will Not Disrespect Any Muslim Leader From JDS-BJP Alliance: HD Kumaraswamy

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy refuted the claims of Muslim leaders quitting the party and said, "nobody is resigning, some workers they will resign". He said, "There is no question of loss, nobody is resigning, some workers may resign". 

#WATCH | When asked about reports of Muslim leaders quitting JDS after the party allied with BJP, JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy says, "There is no question of loss...nobody is resigning, some workers may resign" pic.twitter.com/IA2r1JboyQ

— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2023

Kumaraswamy said, “We will not disrespect any Muslim leader from JDS-BJP alliance. We have discussed about the BJP-JDS alliance with JDS state president CM Ibrahim. There will be more talks regarding the JDS-BJP alliance after the Dussehra festival, where seat sharing may be discussed," Kumaraswamy said, as quoted by the news agency ANI.

Bengaluru | We will not disrespect any Muslim leader in the JDS-BJP alliance. We have discussed all kinds of things on the BJP-JDS alliance with JD(S) state president CM Ibrahim: JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy pic.twitter.com/L5qcrx2GtO

— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2023

JD(S) Karnataka Vice President Syed Shafiulla Saheb, Other Leaders Resigned After Announcement Of Alliance

Following the announcement of the new alliance, JD(S) Karnataka vice president, Syed Shafiulla Saheb and other leaders including M Srikanth and UT Ayesha Farzana tendered their resignation from the party and reportedly there is discontent among several Muslim functionaries in the party, as reported by ANI.