Don't cross boundaries: Gowda to BJP

Dehradun: Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Saturday said the BJP should not "cross any boundaries".

The statement came as the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) ties in Karnataka hit a roadblock over the Datta Peeth and Tipu Sultan issues.

"The BJP is bound by its committment toward the Karnataka Development Front programme, which is the secular agenda of the coalition government. So, the BJP should not cross any boundaries," he said.

Devegowda ruled out alliances with either the BJP or Congress in the coming Assembly elections in the four states and said his JD(S) would maintain a distance from both the parties.

He, however, said he hoped wisdom would prevail upon the BJP leaders and all issues would be settled by a coordination committee of the two parties.

Devegowda's statement comes in the wake of the BJP's demand for removal of a lesson on Tipu Sultan, 18th century ruler of Mysore, from textbooks in the state and taking out of a Shobha Yatra during Datta Jayanti celebrations at the Hindu-Muslim shrine considered Datta Peetha at Bababudanagiri in Chikamagalur district.

The Peeth houses the shrine of a Sufi saint and JD(S) leaders fear the Yatra could stir communal tension and dent the party's secular credentials.

On the Tipu issue, Devegowda said the sultan was a "true patriot" who fought against the British.