HDK's remarks on Preetham Gowda haunt allies BJP and JD(S)

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The padayatra (march) from Bengaluru to Mysuru by the BJP and JD(S) was supposed to give a fillip to the Opposition which is trying to corner the ruling Congress with corruption allegations.

However, in the previous week, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy took the wind out of the Opposition’s sails even before it set off. The JD(S) leader had refused to even lend “moral support” to the padayatra, citing two reasons.

The first was that the saffron party had not consulted them over the march which would pass through their Ramanagara district stronghold.

The second reason was the participation of BJP Karnataka general secretary Preetham Gowda, an old rival of the Gowda family, especially the Revanna clan since they vie for the same turf in Hassan district.

Kumaraswa my even accused Preetham of having a role in leaking the pen drives containing hundreds of videos of Kumaraswamy’s nephew Prajwal Revanna allegedly sexually assaulting scores of women.

However, the two-time Chief Minister was convinced by BJP leaders like party state president BY Vijayendra and fellow Cabinet minister Prahlad Joshi to participate in the march which got underway on Saturday.

One would think that the focus is back on alleged Cong ress scams in the Valmiki Corporation and Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA). However, Kumaraswamy’s Vokkaliga rival and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar has latched on to the JD(S) leader’s remarks, implicating Preetham Gowda. Shivakumar says told you so.

The Karnataka Congress chief crowed that it was a vindication of his stand that it was the JD(S)’ alliance partners BJP that had sabotaged them and leaked Prajwal Revanna’s pen drives. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners had blamed Shivakumar and eventual Hassan MP Shreyas Patel for the leaks.

“Kumaraswamy had falsely accused me of being behind the Prajwal Revanna pen drive release. Now, Kumaraswamy is saying that former BJP MLA Preetham Gowda was behind the pen drive release. He had said that he would not participate in the padayatra because Preetham Gowda was involved. Why is he participating now?” Shivakumar asked.

“Why is the BJP silent on Kumaraswamy’s allegation that Preetham Gowda was involved? Why is the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), who talks of women safety, not talking about it? I urge them to talk about it now,” he added.