The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Deve Gowda blamed for the growth of communal forces

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007
ePaper


<SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?"> <IMG SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=60 ALT="Click Here"></A> </NOSCRIPT>

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Deve Gowda blamed for the growth of communal forces

Special Correspondent

He gave up ideology to bring the party under his family control: Sindhia

REBEL VOICE: Former Ministers P.G.R. Sindhia and H. Ekanthaiah at a press conference in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: Janata Dal (S) rebel leaders P.G.R. Sindhia and H. Ekanthaiah on Tuesday alleged that former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda was responsible for the growth of Hindutva forces and the recent communal incidents in the State.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Sindhia and Mr. Ekanthaiah alleged that Mr. Deve Gowda had given a go-by to the party ideology in a bid to take the party and the coalition Government under the control of his family.

They said Mr. Deve Gowda's provocative statements against the Sangh Parivar led to communal violence in Bangalore and Mangalore.

The H.D. Kumaraswamy Government was silent on the issue of the Sangh Parivar conducting Viraat Hindu Samajotsava, they said.

The rebel faction of the Janata Dal (S), led by Surendra Mohan, removed Mr. Deve Gowda from the post of the party president and suspended him from the party at a national council meeting at Thiruvananthapuram last month. However, the Deve Gowda faction suspended Mr. Surendra Mohan from the party and revoked the suspension of the 39 MLAs led by Mr. Kumaraswamy.

On the issue of the party symbol, Mr. Sindhia said: "The faction led by Mr. Surendra Mohan is the real Janata Dal (S). We have approached the Election Commission to lay a claim to the party symbol and flag."

The claim is now pending disposal before the Election Commission, which had sought details about the party's organisation. If their faction did not get a favourable verdict, they would fight the case in the Supreme Court, Mr. Sindhia said.

Mr. Ekanthaiah and Mr. Sindhia claimed that senior socialist leaders and MLAs from Kerala and New Delhi did not attend the national executive meeting called by Mr. Deve Gowda in Bangalore.

The Janata Dal (S) had not held organisational elections since its inception in 1999. Except in Karnataka, Mr. Deve Gowda's party has no social base in the other States, they said.

Mr. Sindhia appealed to the party leaders to support the moves to revive the secular principles of the Janata Dal (S) and also strengthen it as an alternative force to the Congress and the BJP by opposing the Kumaraswamy Government's policies.

Mr. Ekanthaiah demanded that the Government bring out a White Paper on waiver of cooperative farm loans. The proposal to waive cooperative loans would benefit only a few farmers. Nearly 35 per cent of farmers had borrowed loans from nationalised banks.

The district cooperative banks of Kolar, Dharwad and Bangalore were operating under loss, he said.

Mr. Ekanthaiah termed the proposal as a "public stunt" by the Chief Minister and said the Government should earmark more funds for procurement of farm produce by increasing the Revolving Fund. He also sought details on loans availed of by farmers from cooperatives at four per cent rate of interest.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka