The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Give us majority: Deve Gowda

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Tuesday, Feb 05, 2008
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Give us majority: Deve Gowda

Special Correspondent

H.D. Deve Gowda

BANGALORE: The former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (S) president, H.D. Deve Gowda, on Monday made a fervent plea to the people, including Other Backward Classes (OBCs) such as Madivalas, to give a clear majority to his party in the Assembly elections to help him implement internal reservation benefiting each of the miniscule castes among OBCs.

Mr. Deve Gowda was addressing a packed gathering of Madivalas at a meeting organised by the party at the B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan here.

It was attended by the State unit president of the party, Merajuddin Patel, the working president, C. Narayanaswamy, the former Ministers, A. Srinivas and D.T. Jayakumar, and the former MLAs, G. Chandranna and Andanappa, and Basava Macheedeva Swamiji of Chitradurga.

Madivala Sangha president Amarnath welcomed the gathering.

Endorsing what his party colleagues had said on his contribution to the uplift of OBCs since his days as Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly when late D. Devaraj Urs was Chief Minister, Mr. Deve Gowda said that his speech on the plight of OBCs prompted the late Urs to appoint the L.G. Havanur Commission.

Though the Mandal and Havanur commissions recommended that Vokkaligas were also backward, Mr. Deve Gowda said that he was instrumental in giving five per cent reservation in posts to Lingayats while giving only four per cent to his caste in 1995. During the Congress regime, he recalled, reservation for OBCs was on economic criteria and not based on social and educational backwardness. He said he changed this pattern during his tenure. Reacting to criticism against him by his detractors, he said that it was he who made Gonal Bheemappa chairman of the Karnataka Public Service Commission and B.L. Subbamma of Chikmagalur an MLA. He said he was instrumental in making a Dalit president of the Hassan Zilla Parishat even when there was no reservation. He had even threatened to resign from the Ramakrishna Hegde Ministry. Similarly, H.C. Neeravari, who belonged to the Uppara caste, was nominated MLC, he said.

Mr. Deve Gowda said that he had identified many persons from Dalit and OBC categories and appointed them to key posts in the legislature and Government.

Recalling the events leading to the appointment of H.D. Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister, Mr. Deve Gowda defended that his son had served the people in a good manner.

Denying that he or his sons had conspired to come to power and that the Janata Dal (S) was a “father and sons party”, he said that it [party] would work for the uplift of the poor. “Only then will I die a peaceful death,” Mr. Deve Gowda said in a voice choked with emotion. He said that the Janata Dal (S) can neither be destroyed nor be weakened, as some people were dreaming.

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