Overview
- During Rajya Sabha farewell remarks, Mallikarjun Kharge joked that H D Deve Gowda loved the Congress but married Narendra Modi and the BJP, drawing smiles from the Prime Minister.
- Hitting back in a post on X, Deve Gowda said he was in a forced marriage with the Congress that became abusive, adding he had no option but to seek a different alliance.
- He argued the Congress walked away from the 2018–19 partnership and cited mass defections that brought down the JD(S)–Congress government in Karnataka.
- Recounting 2018 talks, Gowda said Congress emissary Ghulam Nabi Azad pushed H D Kumaraswamy as chief minister despite his preference for Kharge.
- Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar countered that Congress gave Gowda and Kumaraswamy top opportunities and blamed JD(S) leaders for failing to hold the coalition together.