The Many Faces Of Deve Gowda

Accepting the Prime Minister's post was a tough decision for H D Deve Gowda. The Kannadiga politician, who never wanted to step beyond his beloved Karnataka, was sitting on the horns of a dilemma "" should he take up a plum job which was as yet uncertain in terms of tenure, or continue as a well-entrenched Chief Minister.

Gowda has however cruised through his first six months as India's 12th Prime Minister, albeit with some hiccups over Karnataka centric projects.

Ramesh, the Prime Minister's youngest son, says: It's because my father is an honest, pious man. He is neither a womaniser nor addicted to liquor. People come to him with suitcases full of money and he sends them away. That's why he has lasted this long.

A recent book titled 'The King of Corruption and the Unmaking of India' by economist Venkatagiri Gowda, a former BJP member of Parliament, is peppered with allegations that Deve Gowda has amassed enormous wealth illegally.

However the Prime Minister, ever the humble farmer, has asserted time and again that he owns just three acres in his village.

Ramesh, talking to Business Standard at Anugraha, the official residence of his brother Revanna, the state minister for housing, said: We have property in Bangalore at Padmanabha Nagar and at Palace Orchards which was purchased by my father many years ago. In the 1970s and 1980s, property in Bangalore was dirt cheap. We are willing to place it all on record.

But Ravi Belegere, editor of popular Kannada weekly 'Hai Bangalore' says Deve Gowda's sons Revanna and Kumar-aswamy, an MLA, are on a buying spree in the sprawling and affluent layout of Padmanabha Nagar. They have acquired petrol bunks on out-of-turn allotments and are snapping up any vacant property in the area, he says.

Gowda's daughters Anusaya, a lecturer, and one-time journalist Shylaja Chandra also reside in this area.

Ramesh, who is a doctor, is constructing a hospital in Padmanabha Nagar which will have 60 beds. It will cost Rs 80 lakh. I have applied for a loan from the Karnataka State Finance Corporation, just like any other person, Ramesh clarifies.

About the cinema hall and coffee plantation reportedly bought by Deve Gowda, Ramesh says: We bought the theatre a long time ago with the help of a bank loan and money from friends. The coffee plantation too is just three acres, why is everyone making such a fuss? He says his father is too busy and never helps his family members.

However, Deve Gowda's daughter-in-law Bhavani, wife of Revanna, has a different story.

Busy managing Deve Gowda's 50 acres in Paduv-alehippe, a few kilometres from Hardanahalli, she strongly defends her father-in-law.

Bhavani says the Prime Minister has done a lot for his brothers and sisters. He bought them houses and got promotions, transfers and jobs, besides engineering and medical seats for their children. What does a medical seat cost today? It is anything between Rs 8-10 lakh. He has got his sister's children married off at his own expense and given a site to his sister in Mysore.

She also defends the Prime Minister's family accompanying him on recent foreign trips. Except the flight, we paid for everything and that too with white money, she proclaims.

For the Hassan constituency, Bhavani says, Deve Gowda is doing his best to attract industries to solve the problem of unemployment. He wants to create 60 per cent of the jobs for youth in Hassan and the rest for other districts, she declares.