03-29-2005, 06:21 PM
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Coalition partners bay for each other's blood
PT Bopanna/ Bangalore
Leaders of the coalition partners in Karnataka - the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) - have launched a vicious campaign against each other of indulging in large-scale land-grabbing in and around Bangalore, involving thousands of crores of rupees.
While JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda has demanded booking of cases against the land-grabbers under the Anti-Goonda Act, State unit Congress president Janardhana Poojary has sought a probe to disclose the extent of benami land owned by Mr Gowda and his sons around Bangalore.
Refuting the charge, Mr Gowda said, "If we (Mr Gowda and his sons) have any such benami land in and around Bangalore, let the Chief Minister confiscate it under the Anti-Goonda Act."
The charges of land-grabbing were unleashed after the State Government made a statement during the ongoing legislature session that an extent of 32,558 acres of land had been encroached in and around Bangalore.
It is no secret that Mr Gowda is trying to target his political bete-noire DK Shivakumar, former Minister and a close associate of former Chief Minister SM Krishna, and former State chief secretary-turned-Congress politician BS Patil for land-grabbing, while the Congress camp has hit back by hinting that Gowda's family too had interests in land deals around Bangalore.
Mr Deve Gowda had recently shot off two letters to Chief Minister N Dharam Singh demanding action against the land-grabbers. The former Prime Minister released the two letters to the media which raised the hackles of state Congress chief Poojary, who misses no opportunity to take potshots at Mr Gowda.
Taking exception to Mr Gowda's action in releasing the letters, Mr Poojary opined there was nothing wrong in writing to the Chief Minister, but "releasing the letters to the press with a note of warning to the Chief Minister and attacking the Congress was wrong."
Mr Gowda, who had made the acquisition of land for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project a major election issue when he had unsuccessfully contested to the Lok Sabha from the Kanakapura constituency bordering Bangalore, has once again revived the issue to target his political rival Shivakumar.
Mr Gowda has alleged that 5,000 acres of extra land had been sought for the BMIC project with a view to turn the expressway project into a real estate venture. With land costs skyrocketing in and around Bangalore, the land-mafia backed by politicians has grabbed thousands of acres of land.
Coalition partners bay for each other's blood
PT Bopanna/ Bangalore
Leaders of the coalition partners in Karnataka - the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) - have launched a vicious campaign against each other of indulging in large-scale land-grabbing in and around Bangalore, involving thousands of crores of rupees.
While JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda has demanded booking of cases against the land-grabbers under the Anti-Goonda Act, State unit Congress president Janardhana Poojary has sought a probe to disclose the extent of benami land owned by Mr Gowda and his sons around Bangalore.
Refuting the charge, Mr Gowda said, "If we (Mr Gowda and his sons) have any such benami land in and around Bangalore, let the Chief Minister confiscate it under the Anti-Goonda Act."
The charges of land-grabbing were unleashed after the State Government made a statement during the ongoing legislature session that an extent of 32,558 acres of land had been encroached in and around Bangalore.
It is no secret that Mr Gowda is trying to target his political bete-noire DK Shivakumar, former Minister and a close associate of former Chief Minister SM Krishna, and former State chief secretary-turned-Congress politician BS Patil for land-grabbing, while the Congress camp has hit back by hinting that Gowda's family too had interests in land deals around Bangalore.
Mr Deve Gowda had recently shot off two letters to Chief Minister N Dharam Singh demanding action against the land-grabbers. The former Prime Minister released the two letters to the media which raised the hackles of state Congress chief Poojary, who misses no opportunity to take potshots at Mr Gowda.
Taking exception to Mr Gowda's action in releasing the letters, Mr Poojary opined there was nothing wrong in writing to the Chief Minister, but "releasing the letters to the press with a note of warning to the Chief Minister and attacking the Congress was wrong."
Mr Gowda, who had made the acquisition of land for the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project a major election issue when he had unsuccessfully contested to the Lok Sabha from the Kanakapura constituency bordering Bangalore, has once again revived the issue to target his political rival Shivakumar.
Mr Gowda has alleged that 5,000 acres of extra land had been sought for the BMIC project with a view to turn the expressway project into a real estate venture. With land costs skyrocketing in and around Bangalore, the land-mafia backed by politicians has grabbed thousands of acres of land.