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Narendra Modi ?invites? Gowda to Gujarat, he says look after Muslims first

Days after H D Deve Gowda had threatened to leave Karnataka should Narendra Modi become prime minister

Days after H D Deve Gowda had threatened to leave Karnataka should Narendra Modi become prime minister, the latter teased him Sunday by welcoming him to Gujarat where he would be looked after. And the former primer minister responded by advising him to look after the minorities in his state instead.

Deve Gowda had made his threat at a rally in Shomoga. On Sunday, Modi took him on at rallies in Chikamagalur (neighbouring Deve Gowda?s Hassan constituency) and Chikkaballapur, where Deve Gowda?s son H D Kumaraswamy is the JD(S) candidate.

?Deve Gowda says if Modi becomes PM, I will leave Karnataka. He is like a father to me, so I say if you have to leave Karnataka come to Gujarat. I will welcome you,? Modi said in Chikamagalur.

In Chikkaballapur, he said, ?I will arrange a farmhouse or guesthouse for him. I can arrange old-age care for him. Gowda can stay at my home if he wants to. I will take care of him more than his sons would,? Modi said.

?Gowdaji,? he added, ?you are an elderly man and a former prime minister. You must not say things like you will leave Karnataka if I become prime minister. I too am like your son.?

Deve Gowda said he would rather not live in Gujarat where the interests of not all sections of society are protected. ?There is no security for ordinary citizens in Gujarat. I would not like to live there. I have my sons to look after me. Let Modi look after the interests of the minorities in his state first,?? Gowda said in Hassan.

Chikkaballapur, bordering Bangalore, is a water-starved constituency represented by Veerappa Moily, while the BJP candidate is B N Bachegowda. While attacking Moily, too, Modi mocked Deve Gowda.

Modi said Moily in 2009 had promised in the name of the goddess Bhuvaneswari Devi to bring water to the parched region. ?This attitude is disrespectful… Gujarat too had a water problem but I solved it by setting up large pipelines. Deve Gowda, his son Kumaraswamy, and Veerappa Moily can drive a Maruti car through the pipelines in Gujarat,? said Modi, who accused Moily of spending most of his time as a minister counting LPG cylinders.

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First published on: 14-04-2014 at 15:26 IST
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