Kumaraswamy denies statement on BMIC project

Kumaraswamy denies statement on BMIC project

The Hindu

`I never said that a former Minister and a journalist had tried to bribe me'

# Congress ends dharna in both Houses
# Demand for House panel probe into BMIC project rejected
# Chief Minister urged to exercise restraint when making statements
# Kumaraswamy not to file defamation suits

BANGALORE: To put an end to the controversy over his reported remarks on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday denied having said that a former Minister and a journalist had attempted to "purchase" him on behalf of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Ltd. (NICE), which was executing the project. He made statements in the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.

Making a suo motu statement in the Legislative Assembly to break an impasse caused by Congress members insisting on his resignation over the reported remarks, Mr. Kumaraswamy said: "On June 12, while addressing a press conference, I had only invited NICE for a public debate on the BMIC project, and never said a Minister and a journalist came to bribe me."

He had only questioned the motive behind the acquisition of "excess" land by NICE, and said the Government was ready for a debate on the BMIC to resolve differences and proceed with the project.

"Different newspapers have reported my statements differently," he said.

The Chief Minister said he had not committed an offence by making such statements, and appealed to the Congress members to end their dharna and participate in the proceedings of the House. He turned down a demand of D.K. Shivakumar and Basavaraj Rayaredddy (both Congress) that a House committee be set up to probe allegations in connection with the BMIC project. The Congress members, who stalled the business of the House for two days demanding that Mr. Kumaraswamy make a statement identifying the former Minister and the journalist, ended their dharna after his statement and participated in the discussion on the BMIC.

M. Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress) referred to Mr. Kumaraswamy's "remarks" on the BMIC project while addressing presspersons at `Anugraha' on Tuesday. Mr. Kumaraswamy denied them.

Mr. Kharge appealed to Mr. Kumaraswamy to "exercise restraint" while making statements.

R.V. Deshpande (Congress) suggested to the Chief Minister to issue a clarification if he had made a wrong statement.

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition N. Dharam Singh said the Congress stalled the proceedings of the House seeking a debate on the matter.

In the Council

In the Legislative Council, the Congress ended the dharna after a clarification by Mr. Kumaraswamy.

He said his statement was not reported correctly. What he had said was a former Minister and a journalist had met him on different occasions to discuss the BMIC project.

He had said at the press conference that instead of discussing the matter privately, a public debate should be held.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Horatti and M.P. Nadagouda (Janata Dal-United) appealed to Congress members to end their dharna and allow "the matter of public importance" to be discussed in detail.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said his statement should not be misconstrued, as he did not mean that he had entertained persons who had offered him a bribe, though it was true that they had met him to discuss aspects of the project. He was open to discussing it with any person who had the interests of the State at heart, he added.

V.R. Sudarshan (Congress), former Chairman of the Legislative Council, said Mr. Kumaraswamy must clarify whether he intended to file defamation suits against newspapers.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had clarified his statement and did not feel the need to file defamation cases.