The Hindu : No such thing as caretaker government, says Krishna

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

No such thing as caretaker government, says Krishna

By Our Special Correspondent

HAVERI, FEB. 21. The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, said here today that there was no such thing as a caretaker government under the provisions of the Constitution.

Mr. Krishna was provoked to make this assertion when a journalist said that today was the last working day of the Government as the Legislative Assembly was to be dissolved on Monday. Mr. Krishna recalled that late Ramakrishna Hegde, after the dissolution of the Assembly in 1984, had drawn attention to the fact that the Constitution did not recognise a caretaker government. Asked whether he endorsed Hegde's stand, Mr. Krishna asked: "When there is no problem, why we should we create one?''

Asked whether he was in favour of constituting a watchdog panel as had been done under the aegis of late Hegde to monitor the steps taken by the Government in the period till the elections, Mr. Krishna said that it was not necessary. It was too short a period for such a panel, he added.

To a question, Mr. Krishna said that he had already launched the election campaign of the Congress in the State. "I would be less than honest if I said I hadn't,'' Mr. Krishna said. About the induction of legislators of the All-India Progressive Janata Dal into the Congress, Mr. Krishna said they had joined the Congress as they believed in the ideology of the party. There was no question of any enticements. Whether the party ticket would be given to new entrants, Mr. Krishna merely said the issue would be considered at the appropriate time.

On the statement made by the Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, Irshad Baig, that the Congress did not want to project Mr. Krishna as the next Chief Minister, he said a decision would be taken by those concerned at the appropriate time after the election.

On reports that D.M. Nanjundappa, who was the Chairman of the High-power Committee on Removal of Regional Imbalances, that no action had been taken on his recommendations, Mr. Krishna said that the Government had taken steps.

Mr. Krishna expressed satisfaction with the assistance from the Union Government. "It is quite substantial and I am happy about it,'' he said.

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