Kumaraswamy defends Gowda's remarks

Mysore, July 26: Defending JD(S) President and his father H D Deve Gowda's remarks that some disgruntled elements in the BJP had joined hands with the Congress to weaken his party by kicking up the mining controversy, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today said he had made the statement in the larger interests of the party and had not accused the entire BJP.

''It is natural for a party President to see to it that his party Government functioned smoothly,'' he told reporters after offering prauers to river Cauvery at Krishna Raja Sagar reservoir, near here.

Mr Kumaraswamy said the Home Ministry would take care of filing a defamation suit against BJP MLC G Janardhana Reddy for ''tarnishing the image of the JD(S)-BJP coalition Government'' by levelling bribery allegations. He said he had given the necessary instructions to the Home Ministry in this regard.

''I am not filing any case personally. The allegations have been made against the coalition Government to destroy its image, but there is no truth in it,'' he emphasised.

Mr Kumaraswamy reiterated that the judicial probe ordered into illegal mining from 2000 also included Mr Reddy's allegation that he had taken Rs 150 crore bribe from the mining lobby in Bellary district. There was no basis for the Opposition charge that the bribery incident had been left out, he added.

Mr Reddy's recent allegation that Mr Kumaraswamy and Forests Minister C Chennigappa had taken a bribe of Rs 150 crore from the mining lobby had snowballed into a major controversy. Though he subsequently retracted his allegation following the intervention of top BJP leaders, Mr Reddy created a furore by reiterating his earlier charge in the Legislative Council. He also levelled the allegation against Home Minister M P Prakash.

Mr Reddy had on July 24 filed a private criminal defamation case under section 200 of the CrPC against Mr Kumaraswamy, Mr Chennigappa and Mr Prakash, without naming their designations, for calling him mentally imbalanced following his bribery allegations against them.

On making helmet wearing mandatory for two-wheeler riders in the State, Mr Kumaraswamy said the Government had taken the decision following court orders in this regard. However, a lot of representations have been received against helmet wearing by pillion riders and the Government was yet to issue a notification in this regard. The date of implementation had also not been decided. As the public response was against wearing helmet, it would be considered and a final decision taken shortly, he added.

About drinking water problems in Mysore and surrounding areas, he said he had convened a meeting on July 31 here to discuss the problems, including distribution of drinking water not only to the city but also to other parts of the district.

Addressing the gathering after performing pooja along with his wife, Mr Kumaraswamy expressed happiness over all the Cauvery basin reservoirs reaching the brim during July itself after a gap of 15 years. Farmers were happy and a lot of problems had been resolved following the dams being full. Even the Cauvery water sharing problem with Tamil Nadu had been resolved with the release of water to the neighbouring State.

Earlier, the Chief Minister also performed pooja to Kabini dam in the district. Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Water Resources Minister K S Eshwarappa, Housing Minister D T Jayakumar, Speaker Krishna and others accompanied him.

Later, the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister left for Srirangapatna and Panddapura in Mandya district to participate in various development programmes.

Speaking at functions organised in Pandavapura and Srirangapatna in Mandya district, Mr Kumaraswamy said the coalition Government in the State was stable and exuded confidence that the Government would complete its full term. He said he would visit all the district headquarters from next month and attend to the problems faced by the people on the spot.

The Chief Minister expressed regret over the attitude of the Opposition Congress in stalling the proceedings of the Assembly and not cooperating with the Government even in developmental works.

UNI