JD(S) sheds crocodile tears on land grabbing

Land-grabbing: JD(S) threatens to quit govt
Deccan Herald

Former PM and JD (S) leader H D Deve Gowda has decided to hit the streets on April 27, demanding action against land-grabbers and regularisation of City slums.

In a threat to the coalition government in the State, the Janata Dal (S) has said it will pull out of the government if its coalition partner, the Congress, fails to bring land-grabbers to book in and around the City.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, JD (S) working president H D Kumaraswamy said: “It is the responsibility of Chief Minister N Dharam Singh to conduct a comprehensive enquiry into the issue. But the Congress has not considered our demand. We are running out of patience.”

He said former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda had decided to hit the streets on April 27 to pressure the government to take action against land-grabbers and regularise slum areas in the City.

Mr Kumaraswamy, however, did not set any deadline for the government to take action. But he said senior leaders of the party would decide it. The JD (S) legislature party meeting would be convened in the first week of May to make the party’s stand clear to the Congress.

Mr Kumaraswamy criticised former Minister and Legislator D K Shivakumar for trying to drag his name into the controversy surrounding Eagleton township off Bangalore-Mysore Road.

Mr Kumaraswamy said, “It is he (Shivakumar) who is grabbing land by floating fake trusts. It was the previous S M Krishna Cabinet which took the decision to regularise 48 acres of gomala land encroached by Eagleton for creating a golf course.”

He also accused Mr Shivakumar of encroaching 60 acres of land at Hosakerehalli on the “pretext of running a school”.

‘Undue importance’

Criticising the government for giving “undue importance” to IT and BT sectors, he said the government could not give away hundreds of acres of land to IT companies when thousands of labourers who had migrated from other places had no shelter. “The government should take steps to regularise the dwellings of the poor in the City and give them proper amenities,” he said.

On the delay in appointment of chiefs to boards and corporations, Mr Kumaraswamy said the party could not wait till Mr Dharam Singh managed to get permission from Ms Sonia Gandhi for appointing chairpersons to these bodies.

“We want the government to run for five years, but it might not be mandatory as the Congress is failing to keep its word given at the time of formation of the coalition,” he added.