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Be prepared for snap polls, MP tells BJP workers

By Our Staff Correspondent

NAPOKLU (KODAGU), JUNE 21. The BJP secretary and Mangalore MP, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, on Monday exhorted the party workers to be prepared for snap polls as the governments at the Centre and the State would not last long.

Addressing a public meeting here, the first in Kodagu after his election to the Lok Sabha, he said the Congress had forged an alliance with a party which it had opposed in the elections. Though the Congress was decimated in Kerala, it had chosen to tie up with the Left parties at the Centre.

Mr. Sadananda Gowda said the BJP had performed well under A.B. Vajpayee's leadership, but had lost the elections.

The Vajpayee Government had done much more than what the Congress governments had achieved after Independence. During Mr. Vajpayee's reign India's image had been enhanced in the international fora, he said.

Mr. Sadananda Gowda described the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance as "unholy" and said that it would not last long. He wondered how could the Janata Dal (S) leaders, who promised action against Congress leaders if their party came to power, join hands with the Congress now.

The BJP, which was the single largest party, had preferred to sit in the Opposition though the mandate was in its favour, he said.

The delay in deciding who should be the Chief Minister and in the constitution of the Ministry was an indication of the things to come, he said.

On the crisis in the coffee sector, Mr. Sadananda Gowda said he had urged the Union Commerce Minister to take steps towards setting up a Rs. 1,000-crore "revolving fund" for coffee. Mr. Sadananda Gowda said he would request the Union Ministers and the MPs from the State to espouse the cause of coffee growers in Parliament. Mr. Sadananda Gowda said he supported the demands of growers who wanted waiver of interest on loans and fixing the interest for fresh loans at not more than six per cent.

If the Centre did not respond to their demands, he was prepared to lead the growers from Madikeri to Bangalore in a jatha, Mr. Sadananda Gowda said.

The Madikeri MLA, K.G. Bopaiah, who thanked the voters for electing him, alleged that the Congress-Janata Dal (S) combine would lead the State into chaos. He criticised the Janata Dal (S) President and former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, for "appeasing" the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, for the sake of power in the State.

Earlier, Mr. Sadananda Gowda and Mr. Bopaiah visited the Sri Harishchandra Temple, whose desecration two-and-a-half years ago had created unrest in Kodagu. On a demand to raise the retaining wall along the banks of the Cauvery to save the temple from caving in because of soil erosion, Mr. Sadananda Gowda said the zilla panchayat could pass a resolution seeking funds from the Deputy Commissioner.

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