Friday, January 27 2006 18:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: After failing to persuade his son and Janata Dal (JD) Secular (S)rebel leader H D Kumaraswamy against teaming up with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda today (Jan 27,2006)resigned as the national president, pleading 'inability' to maintain the party's unity in his home state.

As his rebel son remained dead set on his group voting against the motion of confidence to be moved by Chief Minister N Dharam Singh in the Assembly and joining hands with BJP, Gowda announced his decision to step down, saying 'it is an irony of fate' that as national president he has 'to plead inability to maintain unity in the state.'

"In the circumstances, it is not befitting and fair on my part to continue as national president," said Gowda in his letter to JDS Vice-President Bapu Kaldate, which he read out to reporters after his hopes of dissuading his son against his moves were dashed.

Describing the ongoing political developments as 'most unfortunate' Gowda said in his more than four decades of political life, he had never drifted away from the ideology and philosophy of 'my political belief.'

"I am aghast and pained by these developments. I am a believer in Karma theory.This must be the result of the Karma of my previous birth," said Gowda who made efforts till the eleventh hour to win back the rebel MLAs and his son, in vain.

Gowda requested Kaldate to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee on February three in New Delhi to make way for the election of a new President.