PRIME Minister H.D. Deve Gowda may be a "humble son of the soil" juggling with the task of keeping 13parties and the Congress satisfied with the functioning of the United Front Government. Back home in Karnataka though, he is transformed into an aggressive politician spewing fire and venom, especially against old political rival Ramakrishna Hegde.
"When this person was deputy chairman of the Planning Commission for 13 months, he didn't approve a single irrigation project for Karnataka. Isn't he ashamed to call himself also a farmer's son, as he has been doing during his campaign? You people should decide his fate," Gowda said in Hassan. "I have won and lost elections. But tell me Mr Patel, has this friend of yours who talks of unholy and opportunistic alliances ever entered the Lok Sabha?" Gowda asked the Karnataka Chief Minister, who was sitting on the dais.
The oratory went on. "Journalists ask me if I've come to Karnataka to counter the threat posed by Hegde. I told them I don't fear individuals but fear the masses, I can fight a hundred Hegdes." The Bangalore media, seen as pro-Hegde, also came under attack. "You (the media) are allergic to me and have written enough against me when I was chief minister. I've become the Prime Minister not because of your cooperation but due to the blessings of the people and God," Gowda said, displaying the killer instinct that surfaces every time his bastion is threatened. As it did again in his three-day Karnataka tour, a new chapter in his old battle with Hegde.
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