The Hindu : Karnataka News : Exclusion of Patil, Deshpande from Ministry raises eyebrows

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 06, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Exclusion of Patil, Deshpande from Ministry raises eyebrows

By Our Special Correspondent

DHARWAD, JUNE 5. The Bombay Karnataka region appears to have got a raw deal in the first expansion of the Dharam Singh Ministry today.

More than the inclusion of S.R. More from Dharwad and Prakash Hukkeri from Belgaum in the Ministry, it is the exclusion of the two stalwarts from the region, R.V. Deshpande and H.K. Patil, that has caused eyebrows to be raised.

The non-inclusion of Mr. Patil, who is regarded as a champion of the cause of north Karnataka, in general, and Bombay Karnataka, in particular, has come as a big blow to the region, which was expecting that the Krishna Government's failure to meet the aspirations of the people of the region would be made up by the new Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh.

Mr. More and Mr. Hukkeri lack the political stature to champion the cause of the region. The former, despite three stints in the Assembly, including the present one, has been a low-profile politician. He was the Minister of State for Cooperation in the Bangarappa Ministry. He had confined his activities to Dharwad city.

Mr. Hukkeri's claim to fame is his continuing success in the Assembly elations, but his influence remains confined to his own constituency.

The question being asked is why Mr. Deshpande and Mr. Patil failed to make the grade. As far as Mr. Deshpande is concerned, it had been rumoured for a while that he incurred the displeasure of the Janata Dal (Secular) supremo, H.D. Deve Gowda, in connection with the alienation of land for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project. Mr. Deve Gowda had targeted him and the then Chief Secretary, B.S. Patil, over the issue.

In the case of Mr. Patil, it is said that more than the Deve Gowda factor, it is his tiff with the former Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, and the former Urban Development Minister, D.K. Shivakumar, that cost him a berth.

Mr. Patil started off as a close ally of Mr. Krishna, and his role in mobilising support for Mr. Krishna to become the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and then the Chief Minister is still etched in memory. But Mr. Patil gradually drifted away from Mr. Krishna.

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