Gowda's NICE revenge

Kumaraswamy could sacrifice govt for Bill
The Indian Express

NEW DELHI,JUNE 6:Guided by his father H.D. Deve Gowda at every step, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is ready to ‘‘sacrifice’’ his government and go in for fresh elections if coalition partner BJP refuses to back the streamlining of the Karnataka Infrastructure Development and Land Reforms Bill, 2006, well placed sources indicated here today.

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The JD(S) leadership is also playing on the growing divide within the state BJP factions led by deputy chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa and party strongman H.N. Ananth Kumar. Since Ananth Kumar is firmly against the proposed Bill, the JD(S) is hopeful that Yediyurappa will muster enough numbers to break away from the BJP on the issue, paving the way for a new coalition arrangement in the state minus the BJP. But even if the Deputy CM fails to split the party, he and his supporters could tie-up with the JD(S) in case of fresh elections, they feel.

The draft Bill, which came up for discussion in the state Cabinet today, prior to being thrown open for ‘‘public debate’’, seeks to overturn the Supreme Court directive to the state government to remove the roadblocks in way of the Mysore-Bangalore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP). The country’s first private infrastructure project, it was awarded to the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) in 1997.

While several Karnataka politicians such as former CM S.M. Krishna and BJP’s Ananth Kumar fully backed the 111-km private expressway project, Deve Gowda has consistently opposed it. As a self-styled champion of farmers’ interests, the former prime minister has accused NICE of appropriating much more land than originally envisaged in order to build not just the expressway but also several townships en route. As a result, JD(S) claims, farmers whose lands were taken over have been badly shortchanged.

Despite High Court and Supreme Court rulings in favour of the project, Deve Gowda has refused to back off. Now that his son — albeit one who broke away from the ‘‘secular’’parent to join hands with the BJP — is in the saddle, the former PM has pushed for a comprehensive Bill that will ensure state control over all present and future infrastructure projects including the prestigious BMIC.

Deve Gowda, who is coming to Delhi tomorrow en route to a JD(S) state convention in Lucknow, has long wiped off the tears he had publicly shed when Kumaraswamy deserted him earlier this year. Having firmly secured the support of Kumaraswamy to push the controversial Bill, the patriarch is hoping to achieve two key aims at one go — get even with the ‘‘privatisation lobby’’ that he has been at loggerheads with and also get rid of the ‘‘saffron’’ stain on the ‘‘secular’’ credentials of his family and party, sources said.