Bengaluru, Jan 29,DHNS:  Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday said the biggest mistake he had committed in his political career was to make Siddaramaiah the deputy chief minister during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the State in 2004.

Reacting to the statement by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Karkala on Wednesday, Gowda said: “I do not care whether Siddaramaiah goes to Tirupati or elsewhere to wash away his sins, but the biggest mistake I made was to make him the deputy chief minister.”

‘Non-entity’

He said till Siddaramaiah became the deputy chief minister, he was a non-entity. “If he had not been made the deputy chief minister, who would have known him?” he asked.
The JD(S) national president said he would not seek the resignation of Siddaramaiah.

“Let even D K Shivakumar be a minister for the next three years. Let Siddaramaiah give him the Excise portfolio also. I know the reasons why Satish Jarkiholi resigned as Excise minister,” Gowda said sarcastically.

Regarding the Arkavathi Layout case, he said, “If the scenes of the BDA officials working behind locked doors had happened during my tenure, I would have ensured that they were arrested and jailed. This government is talking about transparency.”

Internal politics

Dwelling on the internal politics of JD(S) involving the party Gangavathi MLA Iqbal Ansari being seen with BJP MP B Sriramalu, Gowda said, “I should be cursing myself for making Ansari an MLA. What work does he have in Sriramalu’s house in Ballari?” he questioned.
The former prime minister said he would replace Ansari as the Koppal district unit president of the party.