Bangalore: With eye on LS polls, Deve Gowda, HDK try to woo Muslims

Bangalore, Dec 23 (DHNS): JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda on Sunday said his party will not have pre-poll tie-up with the Congress and the BJP for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and that it will fight the elections on its own.

Speaking at a meeting with Muslim intellectuals, he said the JD(S) is not against Muslims. It is the Congress which is anti-Muslim. The JD(S) is committed to implement schemes and programmes for the welfare of the community, he added.

The party had organised the meeting with an intention to woo back the support of Muslims ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The JD(S) had failed to get the backing of the community in the byelections to Bangalore Rural parliamentary constituency, leading to its defeat. The community was said to be upset with the JD(S) for having entered into tacit understanding with the BJP in the constituency for the bypoll.

Gowda further said the party formed governments with the Congress and the BJP in the past due to unavoidable circumstances. It will not recur in future. The party has learnt a bitter lesson. The JD(S) has never let down Muslims. It has fulfilled all promises made to the community, he added.

The Congress has used the community only as the vote bank. Muslims should be careful about the Congress leaders, who are known for betrayal. The Congress does not have any moral right to claim itself to be secular, Gowda said.

Opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly H D Kumaraswamy claimed it is only the JD(S) which has remained truely secular. “Muslims should not punish the party just because we had joined hands with the BJP.  Other parties like BSP too had joined hands with the BJP to form government. But only the JD(S) is being punished,” he stated.

The Congress wanted to wipe out the JD(S) in the byelections to Bangalore Rural parliamentary constituency. Then, the BJP voluntarily extended support to the JD(S), the said.