Sunday, July 10, 2005 - Attur, Karkala

In an exclusive interview given to  Walter Nandalike (Editor-in-Chief Daijiworld.com), former prime minister of India, national president of Janata Dal Secular and also former chief minister of Karnataka H D Deve Gowda in the holy pilgrimage precincts of Attur Church, Karkala, pledged his support to the ongoing and important cause for Mangaloreans worldwide  - the cause of Mangalore International Airport.

'I do not see any problem in executing the need of international flights to Mangalore. This has become the basic need and you will see that soon your dream will soon be  fulfilled...'

The former prime minister impresses one with a hallmark quality - his simplicity. There are no put-on airs one would expect from a former chief executive officer of India Inc. His concern for the poor is beyond question. His massive 'Daridra Narayana' rally in Bangalore for the cause of the marginalized sections of the society, which resulted in a surprising, upset win for his party's candidate in the Chamarajpet assembly by-election, is proof enough that Deve Gowda cannot be ignored. He is not a spent force, certainly not as yet. At his age, he displays remarkable verve and energy and keeps travelling a lot.

Deve Gowda was on his way to Karkala where he was scheduled to address JDS party workers in the Galaxy Hall on Sunday, July 10 at 4.30pm. A devotee who respects all religions, he first visited St Lawrence Church, Attur, Karkala, which has the reputation of being a holy place for not only Christians but also for other denominations. Later, he was also to visit the Jamia Mosque,  Shri Venkataramana Temple, the Bahubali Gomateshwara - all in  Karkala, and a Jain place of worship, where he was to partake of a lunch.

During his very short but quite memorable visit to the Attur church,  Deve Gowda offered prayers and candles at the holy place and gathered information on the importance and history of the church from parish priest Fr Francis Cornelio. On behalf of the church, Fr Cornelio honoured former prime minister with a shawl and memento.

Taking a short break for light refreshments, Deve Dowda spoke to daijiworld editor on few important issues.

About Deve Gowda:

H D Deve Gowda is from the Hassan district in the state of Karnataka. He joined the Congress  Party in 1953 and remained in this party until 1962. He then contested elections as an independent candidate and was elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly (Vidhana Sabha) in 1962. He was elected for the next three terms from the Holenarsipur constituency. From 1972 to 1976 and again from November 1976 to 1977, he was the leader of the opposition party in the  legislative assembly. In his next two terms in the legislative assembly, he was in charge of the Public Works and Irrigation portfolios respectively. He resigned from the cabinet in 1982 over the government's refusal to allocate more funds to the irrigation department.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Hassan constituency in 1991. He became the president of the Janata Dal at the state level in 1994, and became the 14th chief  minister of Karnataka in the same year. In 1996, the Indian parliament did not see any single party achieve a clear majority. A coalition of political parties, the United Front, elected Deve Gowda as the leader; in a surprise development, Deve Gowda became the 11th Prime Minister of the Republic of India (June 1, 1996). He held the post until April 21, 1997. He is now the president of the Janata Dal (S) political party in India.

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