Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jul 7: JDS supremo, H D Deve Gowda, said that he will never condone the actions of the rebel legislators from his party who cross-voted against the party diktat during the recent legislative council and Rajya Sabha elections. "Kumaraswamy has also decided not to show any lenience towards them. We will take stern steps against them and move ahead," he said.

Speaking after inaugurating a programme of interaction on 'importance of regional parties' organized here on Wednesday July 6 by the legal cell of the party, he asserted that caste and money cannot win elections. "If I was tied up with the caste calculations, I would have made Siddaramaiah chief minister long back. A time has come when people are reminiscing the achievements of the JDS government. People even now recollect my contribution to the state as minister for irrigation and also the objective of social justice I achieved as chief minister. Let us build our party on the basis of past performances and let us share power with genuine party activists," he advised.

Attacking those who have accused him of nepotism, he claimed he would not have politically nurtured people like Puttaswamy Gowda, P G R Sindhia, Ibrahim, M P Prakash, Mirajuddin Patel, Siddaramaiah etc if his aim was to brighten political prospects of his sons. He added that he was not the one who compelled Kumaraswamy, who was into producing films, to join politics.

Deve Gowda said Siddaramaiah had pleaded with him for the post of chief minister when there were only four MLAs belonging to Kuruba community. "Instead, I made J H Patel the chief minister, considering that there were 12 Lingayat MLAs," he explained. He said that Siddaramaiah even now nurtures that grouse.

He took credit for significantly increasing Muslim presence in police forces after Havanur report was tabled. He identified factionalism as a major threat facing regional as well as national parties.