Karnataka   

‘I did meet Deve Gowda after 2004 election results’

MYSORE: The former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna has admitted to having called on the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda at the latter’s residence in New Delhi seeking the support of the Janata Dal (Secular) for a Congress-led Government after the 2004 Assembly elections threw up a mixed verdict.

“I approached the Janata Dal (Secular) as I wanted the Government to continue its unfinished work. I was still Chief Minister and it was the moral responsibility of the Chief Minister to make every effort to install a Congress Chief Minister again. So, I suggested that we stick together,” disclosed Mr. Krishna while speaking to select journalists during a breakfast meeting in Mysore on Friday.

The meeting had remained secret for several months till Mr. Gowda chose to go public with it after the collapse of Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition in the State to hit out at Mr. Krishna, who was by then appointed Governor of Maharashtra. Despite Mr. Gowda’s taunt that Mr. Krishna pleaded with him to allow him to continue as Chief Minister, the Congress leader had not reacted.

For the first time after almost four years, Mr. Krishna has admitted to approaching Mr. Gowda and even defended the meeting with the Janata Dal (Secular) leadership. “I went there in broad daylight. Since the Janata Dal (Secular) was the only secular force with whom the Congress could tie up, I approached them. They said they would consult their colleagues and get back to us,” he said.

Mr. Gowda claimed that the meeting resulted in camaraderie between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), paving the way for the installation of a secular coalition headed by Dharam Singh. When asked whether he would repeat the act if the coming poll throws up a hung Assembly as speculated in certain political circles, Mr. Krishna said he would leave the decision to the party leadership.

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‘I did meet Deve Gowda after 2004 election results’

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