M Veerappa Moily to HD Deve Gowda: You lack in culture

Bengaluru: Former chief minister and chairman of the Congress Election Manifesto Committee M Veerappa Moily lambasted former prime minister and JD(S) National President H.D. Deve Gowda describing him as ‘lacking in  culture' and said the latter did not have any moral right to speak about him.

Talking to reporters in Chikkaballapur on Thursday, Mr Moily, who seemed upset over the denial of a Assembly poll ticket for his son, Harsha Moily following his controversial tweet against the party, said Mr Gowda had forgotten with whose help he became prime minister in the 1990s. The JD(S) supremo had the habit of pushing the ladder after reaching the top post and for this reason he had lost power, he said.

"As a former PM, Mr Gowda has the habit of doing politics 24 X 7. He does not read books to enrich his knowledge. Look at me, I have been involved in politics and have also developed interest in literature. I have bagged a number of prestigious literary awards including the prestigious 'Saraswathi Sanman' award for my book  'Sree Ramayana Mahanveshanam'. I had offered the book to him but he did not show any interest. Mr Gowda is only interested in black magic 
and astrology. 

For this reason he has appointed an astrologer for himself". Mr Moily also accused Mr Gowda of planning a 'honeymoon' with the BJP after the Assembly polls after realising that the JD(S) would not come to power in the state on its own. He ridiculed the former PM saying he wants to have a poll pact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had advised him to get into a home for the aged during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

State JD(S) President H.D. Kumaraswamy is responsible for the snail’s pace of the Yettinahole drinking water project as he managed to get it blocked in the National Green Tribunal. Naturally, this has delayed the survey and other work on the project. Even now, Mr Kumaraswamy was trying to scuttle the project to divert sewage water from Bengaluru to fill up the tanks in Chikkaballapur-Kolar, added Mr Moily.

Claiming that he launched several irrigation projects, the former CM said it was he who was responsible for the construction of Almatti Dam and Yagachi Dam and for supplying drinking water to Tumakuru through Bagur canal. Mr Kumaraswamy lacked any knowledge on irrigation projects and was scuttling projects by misleading people, he said adding that the much-awaited Yettinahole project would have been completed two years ago had Mr Kumaraswamy kept quiet.