Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Dec 25: JD(S) national president Deve Gowda on Thursday December 25 said that the merger of the Janata Parivar parties at the national level is taking shape, as the opposition strength in the Parliament is reducing and no single party is officially recognized by the speaker as the opposition.
Addressing reporters at the JD(S) office here during his brief visit on the way to Mangaluru from Bhatkal, Deve Gowda said, "Now the six Janata Parivar parties have resolved to merge. Opposition parties are becoming less, and although the speaker has not recognized any party as the opposition, the Congress is unofficially taking that position.
"The Janata Parivar merger is not complete - it is incomplete without Naveen Patnaik (Odisha CM and founding chief of Biju Janata Dal). We are ready to take in all secular parties. The process is still going on and only the first phase is complete," he said.
Commenting on the burning issue of re-conversion, he said, "Re-conversion is against the interest of the country. We want a peaceful society. Action should be taken against those who indulge in it. India has lost respect in the eyes of the world because of such issues. Re-conversion should not happen.
"PM Narendra Modi set out with an agenda of development. Issues like re-conversion and internal clashes are impediments to development," he added.
Asked to comment on whether he is happy with the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka, he declined to comment and said, "We should not criticize for the sake of criticizing."
He also declined to comment on the state government's decision to pass the controversial Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill 2014 and then withdraw following an order from the Congress high command.
Deve Gowda wished former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who has been chosen for the Bharat Ratna, on his birthday on Christmas day, and recalled that he has been associated with Vajpayee in the political circle for 50 years.