Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has said that his respect for Prime Minister Narendra Modi increased manifold when he turned down his wish to resign from the Lok Sabha after the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014.
While addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Deve Gowda recalled the incident when he had challenged the Prime Minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that if Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins 276 seats and comes to power, he would resign from Lok Sabha.
"I had told him that if you win 276 seats then I will resign. You can rule by forging an alliance with other parties but if you win a clear majority of 276 seats on your own, then I will resign," Deve Gowda said, who is also the National President of Janata Dal (Secular).
In 2014, Deve Gowda was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hassan seat in Karnataka. However, in 2019, he contested from the Tumkur constituency but lost the elections.
He further said the Prime Minister wrote a letter inviting him to the oath-taking ceremony after the BJP came to power. After attending the celebrations, Deve Gowda said he sought an appointment with PM Modi to tender his resignation from the Lok Sabha.
"I went there and I offered my resignation. Whatever kind of person he is, that day when my car came to the portico, he himself came, held me by my hand and took me inside as I have knee pain," he said.
Deve Gowda further narrated that when he expressed his wish to resign, PM Modi asked him, "Why are you taking things spoken during the election so seriously?"
"He (PM Modi) also said that he would require to take suggestions with me whenever the situation arises," the JD(S) chief said.
Since that day, Deve Gowda said, he changed his opinion about PM Modi.
"I realised the change in his personality from when he was as a Gujarat Chief Minister to what he is after becoming the Prime Minister," he remarked.
Deve Gowda further said that PM Modi immediately agrees to meet him whenever he wishes to see him.
( With inputs from ANI )
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