Bengaluru, Jan 14:
Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda on Saturday said he will not contest the 2024 general elections due to old age and added only Prime Minister Narendra Modi could solve the vexed Cauvery water dispute.
“I am not contesting the elections. I am now 90 … However, I will campaign in whichever seats we get and wherever it is needed. I will campaign. I have strength to talk and memory power,” ex-PM told reporters here.
On HD Kumaraswamy contesting Lok Sabha election, Gowda said a decision has not yet been made in this regard.
Gowda alleged that injustice has been meted out to Karnataka about the Cauvery water dispute, and only Prime Minister Narendra has the power to solve it.
He lamented that the Cauvery Water Management Authority asks Karnataka to release Cauvery water even if there is no water, and the arguments of the state officials are overlooked.
The JDS supremo also rued that the CWMA has never paid a visit to the state to check on the availability of water in the Cauvery basin.
Gowda said he would utilise the good offices of his Rajya Sabha membership for the next two and a half years, and also until his last breath to get justice for Karnataka. “I will fight for the Cauvery cause till my last breath. I will not sit calm till the people of the state get justice,” he stated.
Ex-PM revealed that he would be visiting Delhi on February 1 to attend the parliamentary session and raise the Cauvery issue in Rajya Sabha.
On PM Modi taking 11-day intense penance before the consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya temple, Gowda said he has done lots of virtues, and hence he will perform the consecration of Ram Lalla. He also said that he would attend the consecration with his wife Chennamma on January 22.
