BANGALORE: Ministers were making contradictory statements on the Upper Bhadra Project, and the Government should clearly spell out when the project would take off, as arid districts such as Chitradurga, Tumkur and Kolar would benefit, the Congress member V.S. Ugrappa insisted on in the Legislative Council on Monday.

Making a special mention, Mr. Ugrappa said since the Ministers S.A. Ravindranath and D.H. Shankaramurthy were making statements indicating their opposition to the project, there was cause for alarm.

V.R. Sudarshan (Congress) said the question mark over the project had created confusion and the people in these districts were worried. He also demanded that the Government table the K.C. Reddy committee report that had made recommendations on implementing the project in the House and allow a detailed discussion on it.

Mr. Shankaramurthy, who is the Leader of the House, said he had not made a statement opposing the project, and he had been misquoted in the media. Water Resources Minister K.S. Eshwarappa would make a statement on the project in the House soon, he said.

Leader of the Opposition H.K. Patil said the Government should clarify whether it had changed its stand and given its consent for the expert committee proposed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

During a special mention, Mr. Patil said there were reports in the media that the Government, which had earlier taken the views of all parties and intended to oppose the setting up of a new panel, had now indicated to the tribunal that it would not oppose the panel.

Mr. Shankaramurthy said the Government would never compromise the State's interests when it came to protecting its resources, and Mr. Eshwarappa was scheduled to make a statement in the House clearing all apprehensions and giving an update on the situation.

Saleem Ahmed (Congress) said the Government had not taken any measures to ensure that the Mahiti Sindhu programme, to give computer education to five lakh children in 1,000 schools, was not discontinued. Computers were lying idle in the schools, he said.

Mr. Shankaramurthy said the Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti would make a statement on the issue.

Action sought

Umashree (Congress) said action should be initiated against Hindu Rashtriya Sena leader Pramod Mutalik, who had allegedly said that those who object to the portrait of the goddess Chamundeswari astride the ceremonial elephant during the Dasara procession "should be thrashed like street dogs."

Raising the matter under a special mention, Ms. Umashree said it was not becoming of a leader to make such statements that provoked people to violence or incited angry reactions.

Mr. Shankaramurthy said the Government would not condone such utterances, and noted that a litterateur's remarks that the traditional Dasara procession with the Chamundeswari portrait had hurt the sentiments of the minorities had already been severely criticised.

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