Want Rahul to Be PM, But There is Room for Improvement: Deve Gowda

He said according to the formula between Cong and JD(S), his party should get 10 out of the 28 LS seats in the state

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Deve Gowda backed Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate.

“As a coalition partner, I have no hesitation in extending my support. We want Rahul to be PM,” Deve Gowda said in an interview to Hindustan Times. He said Gandhi has gained in experience since becoming the Congress president, even though there is “room for improvement.”

Speaking further on Rahul Gandhi, Deve Gowda said the Congress president should refrain from saying ‘chowkidar chor hai’ (the watchman is a thief), referring to the slogan used by the Congress president to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged corruption issues. Nobody should use language that hurts the office of the prime minister, Deve Gowda said.

When asked about his views on the post-general election scenario, he said it is difficult to predict and that it will depend upon the mandate given by the people.

Harping back on the day his son HD Kumaraswamy took oath as the chief minister of Karnataka, he said, “All non-BJP, non-NDA (National Democratic Alliance) leaders and six chief ministers were on the dais. The euphoria created on that day, does it still remain? It is very difficult to answer that.”

He said, according to the formula between the Congress and the JD(S), his party should be contesting on 10 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state. While the party patriarch is not yet sure about contesting the election himself, he confirmed that his grandson Prajwal Revanna will be one of the candidates.

Reflecting upon the Modi government’s performance, the senior JD(S) leader said the programmes undertaken by this regime have not percolated to the common man.

“There is a vast difference in the quantum of publicity and the quantum of real ground-level benefit,” he said, adding that he believes no prime minister has spent on publicity as much as Modi.

He also criticised Modi for abstaining from the House during the Rafale deal debate. “The defence minister has done well, she made all the points. But the point is, why did the prime minister keep away from the House? Why does he speak outside the House? You have got a majority of 282 seats,” Deve Gowda said.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times)