Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy

BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday said the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition Government will not "dance to the tunes of information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT) companies".

"We are not here to listen only to the demands made by IT and BT companies, who hardly employ three to four per cent of our people. Our Government is for the welfare of the poor people who earn a meagre Rs. 800 to Rs. 900 a month unlike IT professionals whose income is in lakhs," the Chief Minister said at the golden jubilee celebrations of the State Vishwa Karma Samaj here.

Turning up almost three hours late for the function, the Chief Minister said the State Budget, which will be presented on March 20 by Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, will give a fitting reply to all the remarks made against the coalition Government by the Opposition Congress.

"The Opposition members say our Government has no direction. Let them wait and watch. Our budget will show them in which direction we are moving; and all our programmes will start in the next two months," he said. Assuring the members of the Vishwa Karma community of all help, including representation in the Legislative Council, the Chief Minister said his father, H.D. Deve Gowda, had mooted a policy to provide political representation to backward communities several years ago. "While some people misused it, communities such as yours are yet to benefit," he said.

Reiterating that he had never dreamt of occupying the Chief Minister's chair, Mr. Kumaraswamy said: "With a political experience of hardly 18 months, I wonder whether I will able to fulfil the expectations of my partymen and the downtrodden in the State. I believe that I have got this opportunity to do some good for the poor and the downtrodden. Some hidden force (divine force) is helping me to work for the poor."

Asserting that he is not craving for power, the Chief Minister said he will not continue in the post if he is not able to work for the uplift of the poor.

Felicitations

Earlier, Mr. Kumaraswamy felicitated over 15 members of the community for excelling in their profession of sculpting, jewellery designing and painting.

He also presented a prize of Rs. 3,000 in cash to Shivaprasad K. Achar, a child artist from Puttur, who sketched the Chief Minister's portrait within minutes while he was on the dais.

Science and Technology Minister Ramchandre Gowda spoke. President of the State Vishwa Karma Samaj B.P. Chandrashekar and president of the Vishwa Karma Yuva Mandali B. Umesh were present. Members of the community submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister seeking political representation for Vishwa Karmas.

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