The Hindu : Karnataka News : Dharam Singh asked to rein in Ministers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 20, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Dharam Singh asked to rein in Ministers

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, DEC. 19. Former MP and Minister H.N. Nanje Gowda has urged the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, to discipline his Ministers and ensure that they observed restraint and did not rake up controversies involving the two coalition parties.

In a statement to the press, Mr. Nanje Gowda, who is not attached to any political party, has taken exception to the discordant note of the Minister for Cooperation, R.V. Deshpande, at his first meeting with the press after joining the Ministry.

Deshpande's outburst

Mr. Deshpande had attacked those who he believed had called him and some other ministers in the S.M. Krishna government "tainted politicians". Neither the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda nor the Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, had called anyone a tainted person and demanded anyone's exclusion from the Ministry. Nor had the Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, the AICC leader Ahmed Patel and Mr. Dharam Singh spoken of Mr. Deve Gowda telling them to exclude anyone, he said. He wondered as to why Mr. Deshpande had spoken out only after entering the ministry.

Mr. Nanje Gowda said that it was difficult to produce evidence in support of an opinion formed by the people. Though it was being stated that the S.M. Krishna Government was anti-people, one had to await the results of the elections for an endorsement. Thus Mr. Deshpande could not demand of his critics to adduce evidence to prove that he was a tainted politician.

Ministry expansion

Mr. Nanje Gowda said that it should be realised that the long delay in expanding the Ministry had caused much disquiet in the public mind. Nobody should think that the Government was his fief. Those in the Government were answerable to the people, he said.

The distribution of portfolios and the exclusion of many aspirants had already created much unrest. The Chief Minister should have allotted the portfolios considering the seniority of the person inducted into the Ministry. Some of the Departments were too small to be headed by members of the Cabinet.

The Department of Information, for instance, had a budget of only Rs.14 crores.

Creation of posts

Mr. Nanje Gowda also cautioned the Chief Minister against the creation of the posts of parliamentary secretaries to accommodate those left out of the Ministry and to circumvent the constitutionally-imposed ceiling on the size of the Ministry.

He further said that the leaders of the coalition parties should desist from blackmailing each other and inviting further ridicule on the Government. They should realise that the people of the State and even the political parties were not prepared to face another election. The Government should turn its attention towards development. Otherwise the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) should part ways in a spirit of friendliness.

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