HDK vows to end ‘11-yr BMIC hell’

HDK vows to end ‘11-yr BMIC hell’
Orders Probe, Says Will Return ‘Excess’ Land
The Times of India

Bangalore: Going on the offensive against promoters of Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor, CM Kumaraswamy on Thursday announced a judicial probe into the project and promised farmers “excess’’ land will be returned to them.

In a 3 hour and 45 minutes reply in the assembly, backed by voluminous documents, Kumaraswamy likened himself to Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata and vowed: “I’ll go one up on Abhimanyu. I’ll enter the chakravyuha that is the BMIC project and emerge victorious.’’

Taking up the line laid down by coalition partner BJP, he said within the ambit of the law and the apex court judgment, “excess’’ land given to project company Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) would be taken back. “We’ll return it to farmers and seek a judicial probe into the 11-year BMIC hell. We’ll ask for a report within two months and take action.’’

Leaders from the Congress and other opposition parties asked him to reconsider the judicial probe and demanded a CBI inquiry, but the CM remained firm. The Congress staged a dharna and the House was adjourned for the day.

Earlier, the Congress suggested that Kumaraswamy bring in a special Act to take over the project, as was originally proposed by the JD(S). The CM quoted portions of high court and Supreme Court judgments to show such an Act was feasible, but did not commit himself to bringing in a law or explaining how he aimed to return the excess land to farmers.

Kumaraswamy said the government had already given 425 acres of land in excess of requirement for phase I itself. “This company, which promised equity of Rs 522 crore in a high court affidavit, could not come up with a Rs 50 crore initial deposit. Should we put a criminal case against them,’’ he asked the House.

He said NICE had not even given alignment maps of the BMIC road, despite repeated requests from the public works and industries departments. “Out of respect for the Supreme Court, we sent them a letter saying we will give you the land needed for phase I. Their MD Ashok Kheny sends back a letter saying if you don’t give me all the land, I will not begin work! Is it their father’s land? They are here only for real estate, not for building the road.’’

Kumaraswamy also made it clear that he was not being influenced by either caste or regional considerations. “Let us sit together and take a decision against this project, jointly. We don’t need them to build this road,’’ he added. Kumaraswamy does a

Gowda Picks Dad’s Line Of Attack Against NICE

Bangalore: JD(S) national president H D Deve Gowda’s invisible presence overshadowed the legislative assembly on Thursday, all through chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s reply on BMIC.

Not only was Kumaraswamy’s style of speech and mannerisms reminiscent of Gowda, but both sons — public works minister H D Revanna and Kumaraswamy — sang peans in favour of their father. And Kumaraswamy took the same line of attack as Gowda against BMIC project promoter, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE).

In the part I of Kumaraswamy’s speech, he said he was not speaking to advocate anyone. Initially referring to Gowda as “my father,” he soon corrected himself to “the then CM”. He endorsed all actions of his father and even praised Congress MLA R V Deshpande for “supporting” Gowda.

Gowda’s style of sarcasm also surfaced, when Kumaraswamy quoted Deshpande in various contexts: “He said there is God somewhere. But God is everywhere and looking at us.”

G owd a ’s “favourite” son Revanna went a step further in defending his father. When the issue of land owned by the family came up, Revanna interevened and said: “Gowda has set a record by being the sole politician who has his name and property “registered’ in all courts of inquiry from the Supreme Court to high court and the CoD because of cases filed against him.’’

Kumaraswamy said: “Gowda has always been pro-farmer, he didn’t start now.’’

HOW THEY REACTED
“Your judicial inquiry is the decision of JD(S).We want to know the government’s stand ” DHARAM SINGH OPPOSITION LEADER

“The reply is nothing but an advertisement published by JD(S) in the newspapers, a few days back. It looks like an election stunt. JD(S) has a hidden agenda ” MALLIKARJUN M KHARGE CONGRESS