"Now the eighth member from family (Deve Gowda family) has entered politics," Siddaramaiah said (File)
Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday took a dig at JD (S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda following the display of bonhomie during his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he once again called the regional party a ''B-team'' of the ruling BJP and also accused it of indulging in family politics.
The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly also accused the ruling BJP of "dividing the people and the society in the name of Hindutva".
"JD(S) is a party of family politics, now the eighth member from the family (Deve Gowda family) has entered politics. Remaining members of the family will also become (elected representatives). Where they can win, they field family members. In places they will lose, they field others. This is family politics," Mr Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking after inducting former MLC C R Manohar from JD(S), former MLA Nagraju from BJP among other leaders and their supporters into the party, the former Chief Minister questioned as to whether Gowda had any time opposed anti-cow slaughter law, brought in by the BJP government.
"He (Gowda) is now showing ''bhai-bhai'' (bonhomie) with PM Narendra Modi. They (JDS) had formed government with PM Modi's party in the past. That's the reason we call them B-team of BJP....JD(S) is a B-team, they don't have any ideology, they indulge in opportunistic politics," he said, adding that only Congress can stick to its ideology and fight against the "communal" BJP.
Mr Siddaramaiah was referring to a display of bonhomie during recent meeting between Modi and Deve Gowda, amid heightened buzz over a possible pact between two parties for the coming legislative council polls.
Alleging that BJP was a communal party that does politics on the grounds of religion, Mr Siddaramaiah said there is no room for religion based political system in the country's Constitution, which calls for establishment of a secular country.
Congress party alone can take all communities and religions together and treats everyone equally, he said, as he accused the BJP of being anti-minority and against weaker sections of the society, and dividing the country in the name of Hindutva.
Welcoming all those who joined the Congress today, party's state president DK Shivakumar said they have joined from BJP and JD(S) without any pre-conditions.
"There is no difference between old and new in the party, once anyone joins us, they are part of us. Without indulging in personality cult, work for the party. The wind is blowing in favour of Congress across the state, you have seen in assembly bypolls and we hope to win maximum number of seats in the December 10 council polls too," he added.