JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, who shared a personal bond with Karnataka Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson S.L. Dharme Gowda, termed his death by suspected suicide as “a political murder” by the “selfish, cut throat” politics of the State, and called for an introspection.
“He was a very sensitive man, who was deeply hurt by what happened in the Legislative Council recently. He felt humiliated and carried a guilt for no fault of his for the deterioration of the session’s conduct on that day. Such people deserve better. All of us, including me, need to introspect,” he said, with a choked voice.
“One party was keen on testing the secular credentials of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and JD(S), while the other was keen on occupying the Council Chairman’s post and ended up achieving this today. On December 15, our party MLCs told me how despite his protestations, Mr. Dharme Gowda was pressurised to occupy the presiding officer’s seat before the stopping of quorum bell by one party. While they almost forced him to sit in the chair, the other party members dragged him out. A sensitive man that he was, he felt humiliated and was very upset over it. All of them should introspect on their role at least now,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said, referring to the Congress and the BJP, without taking names.
Mr. Kumaraswamy also revealed that on being informed by Mr. Dharme Gowda’s brother Bhoje Gowda how upset he was, he spoke to him for half an hour a week ago trying to counsel him.
“I told him that he had done no wrong and that he was only a victim of circumstances. I advised him to not take it personally. He said he felt better after speaking to me. But the Council Chairman directing the formation of a legislative committee to probe into the pandemonium on Monday seems to have pushed him over the brink,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Deve Gowda recounted his personal relationship with the family that dated back to 1972, to the times of Mr. Dharme Gowda’s father Lakshmaiah, and said this was a “big personal blow to him in the fag end of his political life that had pained him deeply”, and broke down.
“He was a very sensitive boy, who seems to have taken what happened in the Council personally,” he said.
Both Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Deve Gowda lamented how they could never make Mr. Dharme Gowda a Minister.
