In an upfront interview with BR Udaykumar of The New Indian Express, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, hoping to play a major role in the stitching together of a national coalition against the BJP, talks about Karnataka, Modi, God and his will to remain in politics. Excerpts.

You had said in the past that you will not contest but you made a comeback this year. Is it because you hope to become the Prime Minister one more time?

I have already told the Congress that I support Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister and that I will remain in the ‘maha gathbandhan’ only as a senior leader. In my career of 60 years, I have served three terms as irrigation minister, 17 months as Chief Minister and 10 months as Prime Minister. I don’t fight elections keeping a position in mind. God has given me the strength to face political crises and I have been targeted in the past by many senior leaders with false allegations. I will stay in politics till my last breath.

What made you decide to run for elections once again from Tumkur at the age of 85?

Nobody can decide the fate of a politician apart from the people. It is on the insistence of leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah and Chandrababu Naidu, that I have decided to contest again. They forced me to contest as they want a senior political leader in parliament. They told me that the job of a senior leader is inside the Lok Sabha and not outside. Three and half years ago, I had decided that my grandson Prajwal would fight these elections, so I moved
to Tumakuru.

You and your two grandsons are looking to get elected from different constituencies. Do you think people will accept three members of the same family and send them to Parliament?

Except the opposition, no one else has questioned it so far. It is not a vital issue at all. A father, mother, wife, husband and children, fighting elections has become common. Today, people expect good governance and a representative who is pro-farmer and wants to help the poor. People gave me a huge welcome when I visited Chikkanayakanahalli, Turuvekere and Tiptur taluks recently.

In all three constituencies of Tumkur, Hassan and Mandya, you face opposition, not from the BJP, but from within your coalition, by a section of senior Congress leaders and workers on the ground. How do you plan to tackle this?

All I know is that I am yet to face the anger of the common man in Tumakuru or any other district. Some people blame me and my son HD Revanna not providing water to parched areas in Tumakuru from the Hemavathi reservoir in Hassan. But this is not a new issue to comment on. A section of opposition leaders have continuously raised this issue for their political advantage. You (media) should not give importance to this. Being a politician, I have to face both bouquets and brickbats. There are minute differences between the Congress and JD(S) workers as the political scenario in the state is changing.

What do you have to say on how people seem to accept the drastic decisions of the Modi government as being in the interest of the nation?

Prime Minister Modi must shed his ego and stop claiming everything is his achievement. He continues to criticise veteran leaders, including former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his family, and lays all burning issues, like Jammu-Kashmir and other major scandals at their door. This has to stop. The head of a government must act in the interest of the nation, with people’s support and shouldn’t criticise or compromise in defence and safety matters.

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Your view on the coalition government run by your son with the Congress in Karnataka?

There is no difference between Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Coalition Coordination Committee Siddaramaiah. They are working together and the government is running smoothly. Nobody will be able to destabilise it. The coalition is also making efforts to decrease the strength of the BJP by winning more seats in Karnataka and I am confident of coalition candidates winning the maximum number of seats. Curbing the BJP in southern states is the aim of the coalition.

People describe you as a 24x7 politician and a firm believer in God and astrology...

I live my life by a set of ideals. I do not forget to worship God, I never abuse a person using foul language, even if they themselves choose to lambast me without reason.