Karnataka - Hassan   

`Yediyurappa and I have a pact'

Staff Correspondent

I will transfer power to him as agreed, asserts Kumaraswamy

HASSAN: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday categorically said he would hand over the Chief Minister's post to Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa as agreed.

"Before forming the Government, Mr. Yediyurappa and I sat together and discussed the matter. Neither the Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Janata Dal were involved. According to our agreement, I will transfer power to Mr. Yediyurappa. Let there be no confusion over it," the Chief Minister told presspersons here. Mr. Kumaraswamy was on his way from Chamarajanagar to Ullal by helicopter. But the helicopter landed in Hassan because of bad weather over Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

Ansari's statement

On the reported statement of Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari that the JD(S) would not hand over the Chief Minister's post to the BJP, Mr. Kumaraswamy said Mr. Ansari had not discussed the matter with him before making the statement. Moreover, it had nothing to do with Mr. Ansari. It was an agreement between him and Mr. Yediyurappa, the Chief Minister reiterated.

On the Ullal byelection, he maintained that the JD(S) would win.

On the recent meeting of zilla panchayat presidents and vice-presidents in Bangalore that discussed the interference by MLAs in the administration of the panchayats, the Chief Minister said he was not aware of this. He was willing to listen to the problems of the panchayat members, he said.

`Badathana rekha'

He said he did not believe in `raja dharma' or `Lakshman rekha'. His only concern was how to bring the poor above the `badathana rekha' (poverty line).

A relaxed-looking Mr. Kumaraswamy said that when bad weather forced his helicopter to land near the Yelandur tank in Chamarajanagar district on Sunday, he was not at all worried.

There were people working in the sugarcane fields. "I discussed with them their problems related to sugarcane cultivation. It was like a mini `Jana Samparka Sabha' for me. I never thought that my life was in danger," the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy then left for Ullal by road.

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