Defence deal: Deve Gowda denies bribe talk

BANGALORE: Former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy created a flutter on Thursday afternoon, alleging that a middleman had offered his father, H D Deve Gowda, a bribe when he was the Prime Minister to push a defence deal. Just as the buzz peaked into intense speculation, Deve Gowda held a presser within hours to deny the claim.
Gowda, who headed a coalition government for 10 months in 1996, clarified that there were no middlemen during his tenure."There is no question of anybody trying to bribe me on any matter, not just defence deals,’’ he said.
In support of his argument, Gowda released a one-page extract from "Babudom and Netaland — Governance in India’’, a book written by T S R Subramanian, who was cabinet secretary when Gowda was the PM.
The book quotes Gowda telling Subramanian: "I want you and Satish Chandran (his then principal secretary) to help me with my plans. My sons and relatives will want to exploit my present position to their advantage. They will use their proximity to me through open and subtle ways to influence you and put pressure. I want you to be completely fair and impartial and not oblige them.’’
Kumaraswamy dropped the bombshell at a press meet convened to speak about alleged encroachment of waqf properties. He mentioned the 1996 bribe offer in passing to say corruption has been around from times immemorial.
He did not disclose details on the middleman, the deal or the bribe quantum. Asked why was he sharing the details after 16 years, the former CM said: "Army chief V K Singh’s revelations that he was offered a Rs 14 crore bribe made me do so.’’