"Forced Marriage, Abusive Relationship...": HD Deve Gowda Hits Back at Mallikarjun Kharge

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has hit back at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks in the Rajya Sabha, saying his alliance with the Congress was a “forced marriage” that ended in a “divorce” due to an “abusive relationship”.

Responding to Kharge’s light-hearted comment, Deve Gowda said in a statement, “My dear and longtime friend, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, made a light-hearted comment in Parliament about me having been in ‘love’ with them (Congress) but ‘married’ Modi Ji eventually. He also said he did not know the reason as to why I did so.”

He added that he was not present in the House at the time of Kharge’s remarks as he had travelled to Bengaluru for Ugadi celebrations. “If I were to respond to my friend in the same language of marriage, I would like to say that I was in a ‘forced marriage’ with the Congress but had to ‘divorce’ them because it was an abusive relationship,” he said.

Elaborating on the past alliance, Deve Gowda referred to the political developments in Karnataka in 2018. “Shri Kharge will remember that in 2018, Congress sent Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad and offered Shri Kumaraswamy the chief ministership. I did not consent to this. I said that Shri Kharge should be made Chief Minister… However, Shri Azad insisted on Shri Kumaraswamy’s leadership,” he stated.

He went on to criticise the Congress for the collapse of the coalition government in 2019. “After all this song, dance and a wedding, what did they do in 2019? They dumped us. How many Congress MLAs defected to the BJP and who sent them across is now common knowledge,” he said.

Deve Gowda further added, “If Congress had acted against the person who instigated defection that day, today my friend, Shri Kharge, would be in a better position as AICC President.”

Clarifying his stand, he said, “So to put the record straight, I did not desert the Congress alliance. It is they who walked away. They left me with no choice but to ‘divorce’ them and seek a more stable alliance.”

Kharge’s remarks were made during his farewell speech in the Rajya Sabha, where he referred to his long association with Deve Gowda. “I have known him for 54 years and have worked with him. But I don’t know what happened. He dated us, loved us, but married Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Kharge said, drawing laughter in the House.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present in the House at the time, was seen smiling at the exchange.

Deve Gowda served as Prime Minister for a brief period following the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, heading a United Front government supported by the Congress.

The Janata Dal (Secular) later allied with the Congress in Karnataka for the 2018 Assembly elections, leading to the formation of a coalition government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy. However, the government collapsed in 2019 after a series of defections by MLAs from both parties. The JD(S) subsequently aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party.​