Staff Correspondent

H.D. Deve Gowda

HASSAN: Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda said that the role of the Third Front would be to keep away the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party from coming to power. Addressing presspersons in Holenarsipura on Monday, he said the Third Front was becoming stronger day by day and that it would be a deciding force. The candidate of the Third Front would be the Prime Minister.

Mr. Deve Gowda did not agree that the Janata Dal (Secular) once a strong force is now weak. He said that in a recent byelection, the JD(S) had won three out of eight seats, while the Congress did not win any seat. He said there is anti-BJP wave in State.

However he did not like to predict the number of seats that JD(S) would win in the State. When asked about the performance of Telugu Desam party in Andhra Pradesh which is one of the natural partners of Third Front, Mr. Deve Gowda refused to comment. He said the “results were already sealed in ballot box”. Mr. Deve Gowda expressed his shock at the Chikamagalur incident wherein Joint Secretary to Karnataka Chief Minister Nandakumar was caught allegedly distributing money. He described it as a shame on the country. Never in the history of the country, was such an incident reported. He was shocked to note that the Chief Minister had stooped to such a level where an official is used for certain works that he is not suppose to do. If the Chief Minister stoops to this level, how about his ministerial colleagues, he asked.

On the BJP posing L.K. Advani as its Prime Ministerial candidate, Mr. Deve Gowda quipped that the BJP had many differences within the party. Some wanted Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister. His supporters would not allow Mr. Advani to become Prime Minister, he added.

Charge baseless

On the charges by BJP leader H.N. Ananth Kumar that Mr. Deve Gowda had done nothing for the development of Karnataka and for Hassan district, Mr. Deve Gowda dubbed it as a baseless charge and said people of Hassan were aware of development works taken up by him. “As Prime Minister, it was I who released funds for the revival of Railway Workshop in Hubli. I was instrumental for formation of South West Railway Zone. I sanctioned several hundred crores for various railway projects in the State when I was Prime Minister, including doubling of track between Bangalore and Mysore,” he said.

‘Welcome move’

Mr. Deve Gowda welcomed the direction of the Andhra Pradesh government to close the mining companies, including the one owned by Minister G. Janardhan Reddy in Obalapuram in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh that borders Bellary district of Karnataka. “At last the Union Government had opened its eyes,” he said. He did not agree with the statement made by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa that the mining licenses were issued by previous Congress and JD(S) governments.