Karnataka - Belgaum   

Floods are nobody's fault: Deve Gowda

Staff Correspondent

BELGAUM: The former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has said that it is not fair for Maharashtra and Karnataka to blame each other for the floods in the two States.

He said it is not fair for States in a federal set-up to blame one another for natural calamities. He saw reason in Maharashtra storing water to full capacity in the Koyna Dam because of the three preceding years of drought.

Now, after incessant rains and more inflow, the Government had no option but to release water from the dam, which could not hold more water, Mr. Deve Gowda said.

He was talking to presspersons here on Thursday after returning from an aerial survey he was to make of flood-hit areas in the district. Bad weather forced the pilot to return to base. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister M.P. Prakash.

He said he was returning to Bangalore because of bad weather but would visit the flood-affected villages in two or three days.

`Nothing to say'

Mr. Deve Gowda, who said with a smile that he acknowledged all the mistakes committed by him as alleged by, among others, the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the former Union Minister C.M. Ibrahim, said he has nothing to say in reaction to their statements. "They made statements, you have published and I have read," he said.

When asked to react Mr. Siddaramaiah likening him to Hitler, he almost laughed and said, after realising that 54 party MLAs are not with him, what else can he say?

To a question on whether Mr. Prakash will be projected as the Janata Dal (Secular) chief ministerial candidate in the next elections, he said it is too early to answer the question.

But, it is always the legislature party that elects its leader, he said.

Nanavati Commission

Mr. Deve Gowda said he did not want to comment on the Nanavati Commission report on the anti-Sikh riots and the indictment of senior Congress leaders in the report.

To a suggestion that his silence on such a serious issue was surprising, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already initiated action in the matter and obtained the resignation of Jagdish Tytler and promised action against the persons indicted in the report.

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Floods are nobody's fault: Deve Gowda

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