Clueless Gowda denies lobbyists approaching him

A controversy that was started by his son was quickly quelled by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda who said that no lobbyists or intermediaries had ever approached him with regards to procurement of equipment for the defence forces.

In a press conference when asked about the scandal related to bribing the Army chief, HD Kumaraswamy said,“When my father HD Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister these middlemen used to come to me  to seek help for defence procurements.”

His father, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was however clueless about the allegations and said he had no idea what his son was talking about.

“When no one has approached me then why should I talk about any middle man or straight man? I was never influenced by anybody,” Gowda told reporters.

Citing ill health, Gowda said he had not “opened his lips for the last two years in matters related to corruption”.

Asked about why his son had made the statement, Gowda said,“In my humble opinion he has not come to me at any time with any recommendations. "

Gowda said he was not guilty of any corruption and proof of that was former BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said in Parliament that there was no substance to allegations of corruption.

“In what context Kumaraswamy has said I don’t know. In a casual way someone may have provoked him,” he said.

“I am making it amply clear that nobody, no MP or anyone else approached me when I was PM,” Gowda said.

Following Gowda’s statement, Kumaraswamy also told a television channel that he had never told his father about the lobbyists who had approached him.

He also refused to comment on the ongoing scandal involving Army chief VK Singh saying he was not concerned with it.

General VK Singh had said a former army official had offered to bribe him with Rs 14 crore to approve a deal to procure equipment that he felt was substandard and overpriced. The CBI has been asked by the Ministry of Defence to probe the issue.

Defence Minister AK Antony had said in Parliament that he told the Army chief to file a formal complaint but he had not done it.