My bond with Prime Minister Modi goes beyond Rajya Sabha seat: Deve Gowda

Bengaluru: Former PM and JD(S) national president HD Deve Gowda insisted that he had not sought a Rajya Sabha seat and that his equation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not defined by a parliamentary seat.Speaking to reporters at the party office in Bengaluru, Gowda said his vocation — to serve people — was not driven by a desire to enter the Upper House of Parliament. “I have spent over seven decades in public life. Public service has always been more important to me than holding office. I never demanded an RS seat,” he said.Accusing Congress functionaries of politicising the entire issue, he said that if he had wanted a Rajya Sabha seat, he would have raised it with Modi and Union home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to New Delhi on May 27. “I met them, but I did not raise the issue,” he said.Describing the discussion around his not being renominated as needless, Gowda dismissed the idea that he had been slighted. “Some people are making baseless statements. I do not attach much importance to claims that I have been humiliated. There is no meaning in such arguments,” he said.He went on to say: “If anyone thinks (the lack of) a Rajya Sabha seat can damage our relationship (with Modi) is foolishness,” he said. “While I had criticised Modi in the past including for the Godhra incident, over the years I have come to understand him better, developed trust in him and appreciated the work he has done.”Commending Modi, he said the PM is respected not only in India but internationally as well. “My relationship with him is personal. Whether I am in Parliament or not, that bond will remain intact,” he said.Gowda said that while he was unhappy with remarks made by Congress office-bearers, he had no intention of replying to them. He said that although he is out of electoral politics, he would stay active in strengthening JD(S). “I will not sit idle. I will continue to work for the party and its workers,” he said.