Former prime minister Deve Gowda thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "exposing the despicable culture" of the elites of Lutyen’s Delhi and said they had schemed against him too while he was in power as he came from a rural background.

"I can feel the PM's pain. I am also a victim of the same class and their prejudices. I am a simple man with a simple lifestyle. I don't belong to club class. I can't host lavish parties and entertain these people. I actually don't care," Gowda told News18.

Earlier, in an exclusive interview to News18, PM Modi had slammed what he called the Lutyen’s Delhi culture saying the power set had discriminated against all the former PMs who came from a different class and background.

Gowda said he couldn’t agree more with Modi. “As Modi has said – Sardar Patel, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, me -- are all from a humble village background. Our parents were farmers. The Delhi gang never digested this. Dr BR Ambedkar was from a very poor, oppressed background. The Delhi power circles humiliated him also. The same happened to former PM and my friend Chandrasekhar. They made fun of him," Gowda told News18.

"I have seen Modi's comments. He has spoken the bitter truth. I wholly agree with what he has said. During my prime ministership the elite and powerful eco-system of Lutyen's Delhi was hostile to me just because I am from a humble farming background. I thank the PM for exposing this despicable culture," he added.

Gowda said there was no point in trying to please the elite class of Delhi and he had realised it long ago.

In his interview with Network18 Group Editor Rahul Joshi, Modi had said there was a need to deliberate on this power set.

"In Delhi's power corridors, there's an active group of people, which is dedicated to only a few. It could be because of their own reasons or personal gains. It's not a question of Modi. Look back at history. What happened with Sardar Patel. This group presented Sardar Patel as a simple person from a village with a simple intellect. Look at what happened to Morarji Desai.

"This same group never talked about his abilities, achievements. It always talked about what he drank. What happened with Deve Gowda? A farmer's son became the PM, yet they said he only sleeps. And what happened with the supremely talented Ambedkar who they are praising today. They made fun of him. What happened with Chaudhury Charan Singh? They again made fun of him. So I'm not surprised when they make fun of him. These custodians who are dedicated to a select few will never accept anyone who is linked to the roots of this country. So I too do not want to waste my time addressing this group. The welfare of the billion people is my biggest task and I will not lose anything if I do not associate myself with Lutyens Delhi," he had said.