'HD Deve Gowda will guide everyone': Bommai hails JD(S) leader on his 90th birthday

Outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday exuded confidence in Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Prime Minister, HD Deve Gowda's leadership on his birthday, and said that he will guide everyone when it comes to the land, water, and the language of Karnataka.

"Former PM, HD Deve Gowda is a senior leader, and he will guide everyone when it comes to land, water, and the language of Karnataka. Every year I will come and wish former PM Deve Gowda his birthday, this year too I come here to wish him," Bommai said.

Asked whether he came to seek the support of Janata Dal (Secular) to launch the fight against the Congress Party, he said, "I came only to wish him on his birthday and nothing else was discussed as the government has not formed yet."

11th Prime Minister of India and JD (S) Chief HD Deve Gowda, who turned 90 on Thursday, May 18, visited Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Temple and offered prayers on his birthday.

Serving as the 11th PM of India from June 1996 to April 1997, Gowda was also the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. He is presently a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and Congress leader Siddaramaiah were among others who greeted the JD(S) patriarch on his birthday.

In a tweet, PM Modi said, "Greetings to our former PM HD Deve Gowda Ji on his birthday. His contribution to our nation is noteworthy. Praying for his long and healthy life."

More about HD Deve Gowda

Deve Gowda, born in Haradanahalli village in 1933, is the only politician from the south who saw a meteoric rise in politics and went on to become the Prime Minister of the country. Under his direction, the Hubballi Idgah Maidan conflict, which had split the state along racial lines and garnered widespread media attention, was resolved.

Gowda contested as an independent candidate at the age of 28 and got elected as an MLA in 1962. He represented the Holenarasipura seat and was jailed during the emergency.