Saturday, Dec 18, 2004
Saturday, Dec 18, 2004 |
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By Our Special Correspondent
BANGALORE, DEC. 17. The first public statement of one of the senior Ministers, R.V. Deshpande, who was sworn in on Wednesday challenges those who have labelled him a "tainted politician." Mr. Deshpande, who holds the portfolio of Cooperation, today refuted allegations that he had indulged in irregularities with regard to the acquisition of land for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project. "Who is a tainted Minister? I am not one," he said. There is no criminal case, no Central Bureau of Investigation probe, no police inquiry against him, he said. Nor has he been chargesheeted. "If I am a tainted Minister, all politicians in the country are tainted," he told presspersons. The veteran administrator said: "I am playing my last innings." Junior-level politicians should be encouraged to hold responsible positions, he said. Mr. Deshpande said he had not lobbied for a ministerial berth. He had held the portfolios of Agriculture, Industry and Urban Development in different governments since 1985. The Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, and the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, had reposed confidence in his ability and have inducted him into the Ministry. He has to work hard to their satisfaction. Asked about the former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (S) President H.D. Deve Gowda's allegations against him with regard to the acquisition of land for the BMIC project, the Minister said the Karnataka Industrial Development Board (KIADB) and the Public Works Department had acquired 26,000 acres of land. Only 31 acres was denotified. "The leaders are jealous of me becoming a Minister in successive governments," he said and denied misappropriation of funds or land in the project. However, he said he has high regard for Mr. Deve Gowda as also his colleagues in the Cabinet.
`Clean chit'
Taking note of the marathon debate in the last Legislative Assembly on the issue, he said that the Ministers M.P. Prakash, P.G.R Sindhia and H.D. Revanna, gave him a clean chit. The Minister for Public Works, H.D. Revanna, has constituted a high-level committee headed by the former engineer-in-chief K.C. Reddy to examine cases of acquisition of land for the BMIC project. The Maharashtra Governor and former Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, took the initiative to implement the project. But Mr. Krishna had no vested interest in it, Mr. Deshpande said. Referring to the Cooperation Department, the Minister said many sugar, oil and spinning mills and cooperatives are sick and the Government has to mobilise resources to make them financially viable.
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