Present situation worse than Emergency: Deve Gowda

Bengaluru: Slamming the denial of entry to a Congress minister from Karnataka to a Mumbai hotel to meet 12 rebel MLAs, former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda on Wednesday said the situation was “worse than Emergency” and he had not seen anything like it in 60 years of public life.

Gowda also urged all political parties to come together, setting aside their differences, to “save democracy”, which, he alleged, was under threat.

“I feel that the present situation is worse than the Emergency. D K Shivakumar (Congress minister) went to the hotel but was denied entry despite having booked a room there… I have not seen anything like this in my 60 years of political life,” he said.

“All political parties should set aside their differences and come together to save democracy,” he added.

Shivakumar was prevented from entering the hotel where rebel MLAs are put up, prompting him to announce that he won’t leave the spot till he gets to meet the legislators, in a bid to save the Congress-JD (S) government in Karnataka.

The MLAs, seven of Congress, three of JD(S) and two Independents are in Mumbai since Saturday after resigning from the membership of the Karnataka assembly and withdrawing support to the state’s Congress-JD(S) coalition government.

Gowda was speaking prior to a march taken out here by workers of ruling Congress-JD(S) towards Raj Bhavan to protest against BJP’s alleged attempts to topple the government.