The Hindu : Karnataka News : `Govt. has not ignored N. Karnataka'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 09, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

`Govt. has not ignored N. Karnataka'

By M. Madan Mohan

HUBLI, APRIL 8. The Agriculture Minister, H.K. Patil, is a politician of promise. He has risen in political stature on his own strength and not because of his illustrious father, the late K.H. Patil. He is serving his fourth successive term as a member of the Legislative Council from the Karnataka West Graduates constituency.

Mr. Patil, who made a mark as the Leader of the Opposition when the Janata Dal Government was in power, was the Minister for Major Irrigation in the Krishna Government. In the last reshuffle of the Ministry, he was divested of the portfolio and put in charge of Agriculture.

He has been a strong votary for the removal of regional imbalances in north Karnataka.

In an interview to The Hindu , he speaks about the selection of party candidates for the elections and the steps taken by the Government for the development of north Karnataka.

Q: Now that your party has completed the process of selection of candidates, how do you regard the exercise, compared to what was done in 1999?

A: These are two different situations. We were in the Opposition then. The list prepared then had brought much satisfaction to party workers. This was despite some mistakes made. The workers either condoned or ignored our lapses. But today we are in power and such mistakes will not be taken kindly. We have to be careful.

Are you satisfied with it?

There are high expectations from the party. The people expect us to keep high political standards. They expect our leaders to scrutinise the claims for nomination and achieve a balance of representation. Naturally, the feelings about the selections have been mixed.

What about complaints that loyalists have been ignored and new entrants preferred?

This is what has pained people like me. Our leaders have taken the decision to consider a candidate's chances of winning as one of the criteria. Other aspects such as how the new entrants will disturb the mood of the party workers once the list comes out also has to be considered. This is keeping all the leaders busy. I don't want to start a debate or controversy about this.

How does your party defend giving the ticket in Uttara Kannada, Bijapur and other districts to outsiders at the cost of partymen?

We have challenges to face in the elections. We have to convince the party workers of the political necessity of taking such a step. And those deprived of the opportunity will have to be suitably compensated in the days to come.

Your party had made a lot promises to north Karnataka last time and none of them have been fulfilled. With what face will the party approach the people again?

I disagree that none of the promises have been kept. The State Government constituted the Nanjundappa committee. It has accepted the report and taken a lot of follow-up action. Our party's commitment to the development of north Karnataka remains unchanged. Work has been speeded up on all the irrigation projects which were pending for several decades. A sum of Rs. 10,000 crore has been spent on irrigation. Wait for two monsoons; districts such as Bijapur, Raichur and Gulbarga will turn out to be the Punjab of Karnataka.

Are you satisfied with the development work in north Karnataka?

I am not fully satisfied. But I am happy that the wheel of development has been set in motion. Nobody can stop the process of doing justice to north Karnataka.

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