“I have known Deve Gowda for more than 54 years, and I have worked with him a lot. Later, I don’t know what happened,” Kharge said, recalling his decades-long association with the former Prime Minister.
“Wo mohabbat humare saath kiye, shaadi Modi sahab ke saath (He loved us but got married to PM Modi),” Kharge said, drawing laughter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Deve Gowda was the country’s Prime Minister for less than a year after the 1996 Lok Sabha elections.
He led the United Front government with Congress support. In 2018, his party, the Janata Dal (Secular), joined hands with Congress to win the Karnataka elections, and his son HD Kumaraswamy became Chief Minister.
The government fell in 2019 after some Congress and JDS MLAs rebelled, and the JDS later allied with the BJP-led NDA government.
Kharge also took a light-hearted dig at Athawale, saying, “He always praises Modiji in his poems. He doesn’t know any other poem,” which brought smiles from Congress members.
PM Modi paid tribute to 59 members retiring from the Rajya Sabha, asking them to continue contributing to the nation even after leaving Parliament.
A total of 37 seats in the Rajya Sabha became vacant this year. While 26 candidates were elected without contest, the remaining seats were filled after Monday’s polls.
To members who do not plan to return to the House, PM Modi said, “In politics, there is no such thing as a full stop. The future awaits you as well, and your experience will forever remain an enduring part of our national life.”
He also reserved special praise for three senior leaders, Deve Gowda, Kharge, and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, describing them as stalwarts who have devoted more than half their lives to Parliamentary proceedings. “Newly elected MPs should learn from them,” PM Modi said.
