Karnataka - Mangalore   

Government is deceiving people, says Somashekar

Special Correspondent

`There is unnecessary confusion regarding ONGC's Special Economic Zone'

MANGALORE: The Union and State governments are unnecessarily creating confusion regarding the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) sponsored Special Economic Zone in Mangalore, former Minister B. Somashekar said here on Thursday.

Despite the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh clearing project for Karnataka, the Petroleum Ministry is thinking of splitting it into two, which shows the internal instability of the Government, he said.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Somashekar said that the Prime Minister's Office and the Petroleum Ministry were thinking two different things, which is creating a confusion among the investors as well as the industry.

Transparency

The State Government is maintaining a dignified silence over the issue in an attempt to keep the coalition Government afloat. He demanded that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the State Government and ONGC should be made public to bring in some level of transparency. The former Minister said the State Government has failed to implement simple programmes, such as constructing an office complex for the Udupi district office and is tottering in continuing the work despite the fact that 33 acres of land is available.

The land was regained in 1999 when he was the Minister for Revenue from a family, which had encroached on it, he recalled.

Admission

Regarding the Supreme Court order on admission to private professional colleges, Mr. Somashekar said that the order will have a serious impact on the social justice programme of the country. He said the question is why the State Governments are not taking a stand on this issue. He said he did not know if the Government was working for the private managements or for the people.

Convenient arrangement

Stating that he will not give much time for the coalition Government in the State to fall, he said the coalition is just a convenient arrangement to the "mutual sharing of resources" between the coalition partners. Since the "sharing of resources" is over, he said the days of the coalition Government are numbered. The Janata Dal (United) still held sway among the voters owing to the "politics of value" that the party has displayed in the past and will come back to power soon, he predicted.

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