'How could the Congress keep Deve Gowda in power, if he is allergic to our demands?'

Ever since H D Deve Gowda managed to cobble up a loose-knit coalition of regional parties on June 1, the Congress has been passing through an excruciating phase of trial and tribulation.

Corruption cases and scandals have dogged its leaders from P V Narasimha Rao to his successor Sitaram Kesri, resulting in the rapid erosion in the credibility of what was once the nation's premier political party.

Instead of trying to clean up the party’s Augean stables, what the 82-year-old Kesri did on March 30 was to hastily withdraw the unconditional support that the Congress had pledged to the United Front government.

Many believe Kesri’s decision to pull down the Deve Gowda regime stemmed from his own insecurity as Congress leader. The man who helped Kesri to pull the rug from under Deve Gowda’s feet was the senior Congress leader K Karunakaran.

Four hours after the Congress withdrew support to the UF government on Easter Sunday, Rediff On The NeT’s George Iype met Karunakaran for an exclusive interview. Excerpts:

Why did the Congress decide to bring down Deve Gowda?

We did not suddenly make up our minds to pull down the government. We have been warning the UF partners that they could not go on getting our support by abusing the Congress. Deve Gowda and his colleagues took our support for granted. We have now told them that enough is enough.

But what prompted you to suddenly withdraw support?

The happenings in Uttar Pradesh. We hold Deve Gowda responsible for making Mayawati the UP chief minister with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party. We pleaded with him to extend UF support to the Bahujan Samaj Party to form the government in UP. How could the Congress continue to keep Deve Gowda in power, if he is allergic to some of our demands?

But wasn’t the decision hasty?

It was not a hasty decision. The Congress Parliamentary Party had twice warned the government that we do not approve of some of the policies it followed. But there was no effort from Deve Gowda to convince the Congress that his government is seriously committed to the people.

Senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar has said he is surprised at the decision.

I cannot believe that Pawar can say so. Pawar was with us when Kesriji, myself and some other senior Congress leaders discussed the issue last Friday. He fully agreed to the view that the Congress should bring down the government, but he was a little reluctant to do it immediately.

Did Kesri consult P V Narasimha Rao?

No. He was not invited for any of the meetings.

Do you expect opposition from Pawar and P V Narasimha Rao to Kesri’s plan?

The Congress’s only goal now is to form the government as early as possible. I do not feel that any Congressman will oppose Kesri’s bold plan.

But how do you expect to get a majority in Parliament? The Congress has only 144 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Do you think the Congress decided to bring down the government without thinking about the future course of action?. We expect support from the UF partners. Tell me, who is happy with Deve Gowda now? No partner including the Left parties is happy with the government.

Have you talked to some of these unhappy partners?

I have been personally in touch with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Tamil Maanila Congress leaders in the past many weeks. My friends in the Congress are also talking to the Telugu Desam Party.

Do you hope to rope in Mulayam Singh Yadav and Laloo Prasad Yadav?

That is also a great possibility.

Who will be the Congress candidate for the post of prime minister?

Naturally, the CPP leader will be the candidate.

If Kesri fails to become the prime minister, what will happen?

We will cross the bridge when we reach there. We are optimistic of getting overwhelming support from the UF partners.

Will the Congress agree to a UF government minus Deve Gowda?

Not at all. The Congress withdrew support to Deve Gowda with the specific intention of ruling the country.

Don’t you think corruption cases against you in Kerala and Kesri’s alleged involvement in a murder case prompted you to dump Deve Gowda?

There is nothing new about the scandals that many politicians are involved in. The question is what is the truth. I am fighting the cases against me in Kerala and it has nothing to do with the collective decision of the Congress party to bring down the government.

Will you be a Cabinet minister if Kesri becomes prime minister?

Wait and see.