H D Deve Gowda hits out at BJP for questioning Kumaraswamy\'s US trip

Bengaluru: JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda Sunday attacked the BJP for objecting to Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's ongoing visit to the US, asking whether he should have sought permission for it from saffron party chief B S Yeddyurappa.

Gowda said his son had gone to the US for the groundbreaking ceremony of Vokkaliga community's Kalabhairaveshwara temple. "He has not gone for anything else.

Our community's Adichunchanagri seminary's Kalabhairaveshwara temple is there. No one from here has given money, Vokkaligas in America have gathered Rs 20 crore for it," Gowda told reporters.

"Is Yeddyurappa's (state BJP chief) permission required for it? What is wrong in going for for three days...is it a joke?" He was responding to a query over senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister K S Eshwarappa questioning the chief minister's priorities and the number of days he was spending in the US. "If someone asks chief minister about it he will question whether you have voted for me, rename your party from Janata Dal Secular to unquestionable Janata Dal," Eshwarappa had tweeted Saturday night.

The BJP has been questioning the priorities of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government at a time when most parts of the state are reeling under a severe drought. It has also termed the chief minister's 'Grama Vastavya' (overnight stay in villages) programme, aimed at making the administration more effective, a "political drama", and has asked him to instead tour drought affected areas to assess the ground situation.

Ahead of his departure from here on June 28, Kumaraswamy had tweeted, "Heading to the USA to take part in two private functions" and he gave details of the programmes. Besides taking part in the temple ceremony, he is slated to address a convention of Vokkaligas Parishath on July 5.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy in a tweet Sunday said, "I will attend the Compete with China Investor Meet on Business Opportunities in Karnataka, organised by Kannadigas in Washington DC and New York on July 2 and 4.

The government is keen on driving investment to the state, especially to its tier 2 and 3 cities." He also shared pictures of the temple groundbreaking ceremony on Twitter.

Gowda, replying to a question, said the JD(S)'s proposed statewide footmarch aimed at strengthening the party after its rout in the Lok Sabha polls will be organised in such a way that it does not cause any threat to the coalition government in the state. "...without causing threat to coalition government, without hurting anyone's sentiments it will be organised...I will personally look into the preparations and flag it off," he said.

JD(S)'s padayatra announcement in the backdrop of Gowda's recent remarks about mid-term polls in Karnataka had caused a flutter in the political circles, especially its alliance partner Congress.