New Delhi, March 18 The Rajya Sabha witnessed some lighter moments on Wednesday when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that former prime minister H D Devegowda was "in love" with the Congress but "married" to the BJP.
Devegowda responded, saying that he was in a "forced marriage" with the Congress and had to "divorce" as it was an "abusive relationship".
Speaking in the House during the farewell to retiring members, Kharge, the leader of the opposition, said he has known Devegowda for the last 54 years and has worked closely with him.
"However, I don't know what happened; he shared his love and affection with us, but he married Mr. Modi (BJP). This happened quite recently, so I really don't know how you interpret it," Kharge said.
Devegowda was not in the House when Kharge said this in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Both Kharge and Devegowda are retiring and may return to the House.
Responding on X, Devegowda said, "My dear friend Mallikarjun Kharge made a humorous comment in Parliament today on my 'love' for Congress and 'marriage' with BJP. I was not there in the House when he spoke. Here's my response, both lighthearted and factual, on why I was forced to 'divorce' the Congress."
Devegowda also said that he did not know the reason why he did so.
"I was not in the House when Kharge spoke as I had to leave for Bengaluru to be present for tomorrow's Ugadi celebrations. If I were to respond to my friend in the same language of marriage, I would like to say that I was in a 'forced marriage' with the Congress but had to 'divorce' them because it was an abusive relationship," he said.
The former prime minister said Kharge will remember that in 2018 Congress sent Ghulam Nabi Azad and offered Kumaraswamy the chief ministership.
"I did not consent to this. I told in everybody's presence that Shri Kharge should be made chief minister. Shri Siddaramaiah was also there.
"However, Shri Azad insisted on Shri Kumaraswamy's leadership. But after all this song, dance and a wedding what did they do in 2019? They dumped us," the former PM said.
He asked how many Congress MLAs defected to the BJP and who sent them across is now common knowledge.
"If Congress had acted against the person who instigated defection that day, today my friend, Shri Kharge, would be in a better position as AICC president," the JD(S) supremo said.
He said, "I did not desert the Congress alliance. It is they who walked away. They left me with no choice but to 'divorce' them and seek a more stable alliance."
Both Devegowda and Kharge hail from Karnataka and have been in state politics.