The Hindu : Karnataka News : Krishna rules out early Assembly polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 29, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Krishna rules out early Assembly polls

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, OCT. 28. The former Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, today ruled out early elections to the Legislative Assembly and said that it took time for any coalition Government to settle down.

He was participating in a meet-the-press programme organised by the Press Club of Bangalore.

Mr. Krishna said he went with the statements of the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, and the Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, who have repeatedly been stating that the coalition Government would last its term.

`Tainted Ministers'

Referring to a question on the opposition to the induction of "tainted Ministers" in the Cabinet, Mr. Krishna said that the political parties in a coalition should have the right to choose the legislators to be accommodated in the Ministry. It was also improper to call any former Minister tainted until that person had been indicted by a court or by a commission of inquiry. There should be mutual respect between the parties running the coalition Government, he said.

Rahul Gandhi's visit

Asked about the visit of Rahul Gandhi, MP, to Bangalore recently, he said Mr. Gandhi was on a private visit. "He was here to learn some things that could be implemented in his Lok Sabha constituency (Amethi) and this indeed was a tribute to Bangalore. To a question on the statements of the former Minister D.K. Shivakumar, he said he had not spoken to him for several weeks. "My advice to all Congressmen is that if they have any suggestion which has a bearing on the coalition Government they should directly communicate with the Chief minister or the party president. They should not go to the press."

Mr. Krishna said: "The nation feels relieved that the Veerappan menace has come to an end although I do not know whether he was killed in an encounter. The Special Task Force of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have done a commendable job."

Infrastructure

On complaints about poor infrastructure in Bangalore, the former Chief Minister said being an elected representative from Bangalore he would take up the matter with the Chief Minister. The roads were in a bad shape not only in Bangalore but also in rural areas.

There should be a balanced approach and the demands of the information technology sector should be attended to since they brought good money to the State exchequer.

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