Devegowda attacks BJP but soft on Congress

BANGALORE: Amid desertions by key partymen ahead of the forthcoming assembly polls in Karnataka, JD(S) chief H D Devegowda said on Friday his party was "not finished" but alive and kicking.
    
"People say JD(S) is finished. But I want to remind them that JD(S) is like grass, it keeps on growing", Gowda said while speaking at a meeting of state, district and taluka level office bearers of the party here.
    
His remarks came in the backdrop of a group of party legislators headed by M P Prakash quitting JD(S) protesting the role played by Gowda in withdrawing support to the BJP government leading to imposition of President's rule in the state.
    
Gowda took a swipe at BJP but went soft on Congress.
    
He defended his decision to topple the week-old BJP government headed by B S Yeddyurappa, saying "as BJP declared to provide Karnataka a 'Gujarat model' of ruling, I decided to pull its government down".
    
The JD(S) chief said the failure by BJP to ink the 12-point conditions was also one of the reasons for bringing down the first-ever saffron party government in the state.
    
He however, sounded soft on the relationship with Congress. "Several people tried to distance me from No.10 Janpath (Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's residence) and succeeded in it", he said referring to his failed attempts to win back Congress' support after BJP-JDS government fell in November last.
    
Gowda also announced a month-long tour programme from Janaury 18 to February 14, to address party workers across the state seeking to arrest any further desertion by party workers.