NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Wednesday responded to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s dig at him for choosing the Bharatiya Janata Party as an alliance partner rather than the Congress.Hours after Kharge’s address in Rajya Sabha, Deve Gowda wrote a letter saying that he was in a “forced marriage” with the grand old party but had to “divorce” them because it was an “abusive relationship.”“My dear and longtime friend, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, made a light-hearted comment in Parliament today about me having been in ‘love’ with them (Congress) but ‘married’ Modi Ji (BJP) eventually. He also said he did not know the reason as to why I did so. I was not in the House when Shri Kharge spoke, as I had to leave for Bengaluru to be present for tomorrow’s Ugadi celebrations,” the letter reads.“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 added.Further, the former Prime Minister accused Congress of “dumping” his party in 2018 after offering the chief ministerial post of Karnataka to Deve Gowda’s son Kumaraswamy.“Shri Kharge will remember that in 2018 Congress sent Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad and offered Shri Kumaraswamy the chief ministership. I did not consent to this. I said 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,” he said.“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. So, to put the record straight, 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,” he added.Earlier in the day, Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking during his farewell, said he had known Deve Gowda for over 54 years and had worked closely with him before the former PM’s party aligned with the BJP.“I know Deve Gowda ji for more than 54 years and I worked with him a lot. Later, I don’t know what happened… ‘Wo mohabbat humare saath kiye, shadi Modi sahab ke sath,’” Kharge said, drawing laughter from fellow MPs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Deve Gowda became Prime Minister in 1996 at the head of a United Front government backed by Congress, marking a key phase of cooperation. In Karnataka, his party, JD(S), later alternated between opposing and partnering Congress.Earlier in the day, PM Modi also addressed the House, thanking outgoing members for their contributions and echoing a similar sentiment.“There is no full stop in politics. The future is waiting for you,” the Prime Minister said, urging retiring MPs to continue contributing to public life. He also called on newly elected members to learn from senior leaders such as Deve Gowda, Kharge, and Sharad Pawar, noting their decades of parliamentary experience.PM Modi also singled out Ramdas Athawale for his wit, remarking that humour and satire in the House had diminished in recent years but remained alive through figures like him. Athawale is among 37 members completing their terms, alongside leaders including Priyanka Chaturvedi, Tiruchi Siva, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.The retirements follow elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, with 26 candidates elected unopposed. Political developments in states such as Bihar, where opposition abstentions aided the NDA, have further reshaped the Upper House’s composition.