Nataka in Karnataka - When you Gowda go

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Does the Deve Gowda family have divine protection?

Veteran journalist from Mysore K B Ganapathy wonders in " Star of Mysore " the English daily he edits, "Sometimes I wonder if H.D. Deve Gowda's success, despite an unstable weak political party, is due to the grace of Gods and Goddesses which he worships with vermilion and sandal paste smeared prominently on his broad forehead or on the bridge of his big nose ".

The editor is n't alone. Everyone I know in Karnataka is appalled at Gowda's ways, and can't fathom how he gets away with the political equivalent of murder.

The moment Congress led Central government decided to end the yearlong trauma of Five and a half crore people in Karnataka by dissolving the Assembly, I sighed in relief. But I sighed too soon. Gowda still had many tricks up his sleeves. Gowda has made me ashamed of being a Kannadaiga(a practising Kannadiga!). The Nataka in Karnataka scripted and staged by ' humble ' farmer H D Deve Gowda and company is undoubtedly a blot on the whole state of Karnataka, which has a vast talent pool, resources, eternally vigilant civil society and cultured people. I agree that the politicians don't represent the general public. Their acts and decisions don't represent the views of majority people.

The way Gowda and his ' son ' parivar held the entire state to ransom for the last 41 months have made me wonder if some ' evil ' powers above us indulgently blessed them while they tormented common people.

Perhaps they wanted to have some fun by bestowing power on the people like Gowda!

People who voted him out of sympathy (S M Krishna's Bangalore centric rule also largely helped Gowda to hold keys to power) in 2004 Assembly polls had wedged themselves among three rocks: -(JD(S), BJP & Congress).

I was flooded with SMSes from across the globe abusing Gowda and sons (some call them ' sins'!) sent by the people of Karnataka. The message was always the same.

' Kick Gowda out and save Karnataka '. Some of the SMSes were in atrocious, horrid, nasty, nauseating language. But it shows the level of anger among the people against the ' first family ' of state politics.

This unsophisticated, so called peasant family which suffers from a siege mentality has committed a series of political and moral crimes just to retain its supremacy over the state in the last 41 months.

Till last October, the world seemed divided diametrically between two kinds of people: those who love H.D. Deve Gowda, and those who love to loathe H.D. Deve Gowda. I doubt the first group exists anymore! Even his staunch followers from his own stronghold are now distancing themselves from ' son of the soil '.

There doesn't seem to be anyone left he has n't betrayed:

Whether it is sleeping with Ramakrishna Hegde just to stab in the back to achieve his chief mnisterial and prime ministerial ambitions, filing CBI cases against Lalu Yadav (he now describes him as a black cobra!), ditching Sitaram Kesri, hassling many industrialists and IT czar N R Narayanamurthy (whose integrity he had the temerity to question) on various issues, sleeping with the BJP to install his son H.D. Kumaraswamy as chief minister and ' betraying ' them twice in just 50 days, or cosying up to the Congress to become ' secular ' once again, always putting his mega family above state and its people, Deve Gowda proved beyond all doubts that he is the one and only who can stoop to such a low level in public life.

I would not be wrong, if I say that Gowda is somebody for whom only the end matters, the means be damned? Unfortunately, the ' ring master ' is now at the receiving end. Future looks bleak for both him and his party.

The BJP, which departed before its arrival in the south, is also equally responsible for the political mess and the new low in Indian politics. Their 7 day government imposed on the people has severely dented the image and credibility of saffron brigade. People are convinced that it is just another party, willing to stoop to any level for power.

As I have said in the beginning Gowda and his sons always attribute their success to Gowda's strong star powers and gods. It is now time for the gods and goddesses to disown Gowda and Co in the larger interest of the state! Hope the Almighty hears the Kannadigas prayers!