Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Jun 19: Fight over the government decision to sell thousands of acres of land at Ballari to Jindals has been continuing. A few Congress leaders too have been opposing the sale deal. In the meanwhile, Congress veteran, H K Patil, who had struck discordant note over the issue, has been summoned by the party high command to New Delhi.
It is said that both Siddaramaiah, who is already in Delhi, and Patil, will meet Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.
H K Patil has been bitterly critical of the government's decision to allot land to JSW Jindal and has pointed out a number of loose ends in the deal. This has given rise to speculations in political circles.
H K Patil
In the meantime, the coalition government and BJP leaders are engaged in a war of words over the deal. BJP has expressed resentment at the statement of chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy, that when Yeddyurappa was the chief minister, he had received a cheque amounting to Rs 20 crore from the Jindals and that he had exposed this scandal. Through a tweet, Yeddyurappa warned Kumaraswamy against speaking irresponsibly from the seat of the chief minister. He reminded the chief minister that the courts have exonerated him from all kinds of wrongdoings and asked him not to speak lightly of court verdicts. "You have completely failed in all fronts of administration. You have lost your way and now trying to cover up for your blunders, but these efforts will fail," he said in a tweet.
Former deputy chief minister, K S Eshwarappa, said that the chief minister is wrong in referring to a case in which the Central Bureau of Investigation had exonerated Yeddyurappa, as it is tantamount to bringing disrepute to the court. At the same time, he wanted to know from the chief minister about the fate of anti-NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises) a pro-farmer agitation launched by Deve Gowda. "You were crying hoarse from the rooftops about NICE scandal. Now your own government is functioning, and your brother is the PWD minister. If you have genuine concern about farmers, get the irregularities probed now," he challenged.
Former deputy chief minister, R Ashok, asked the chief minister to convene a special session of the legislature to discuss the land allotment to Jindal.
JD(S) state president, H Vishwanath, wanted to know from Siddaramaiah why he is silence now, after fighting against disposal of land in favour of Jindals, and carrying out fight against mining barons of Ballari. He criticized Siddaramaiah for his inertia on the issue.
The government has tried to wash its hand off the issue by forming a cabinet sub-committee to consider the land allotment issue. But the charges and counter charges have been continuing.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Dinesh Gundu Rao, said that Anand Singh, who was in the BJP when the Yeddyurappa-led government took a decision to sell this land to Jindals, is now opposing it. He asked Singh to give his opinions and explanations to cabinet sub-committee formed for the purpose.