'Hegde, Gowda preventing merger of JD factions'

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, OCT. 14. The former Labour Minister and Janata Dal(U) leader, Mr. S.K. Kantha, has said that the main hurdle in bringing about a merger of his party and the Janata Dal(S) was the personal differences between the former Prime Minister, Mr. H.D. Deve Gowda, and the former Chief Minister, Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde.

He told presspersons here today that the workers and a large section of the leaders of both the Janata Dal(U) and the Janata Dal(S) were interested in a merger of the two parties. "Both Mr. Deve Gowda and Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde have been identified as national leaders and should stop their involvement in petty matters. They should make way for others to strengthen the Janata Dal," he said.

Mr. Kantha hit out at the Union and State governments, and said they were not interested in solving the problems of the common people. Though prices of essential commodities were on the rise, the attention of the Government was elsewhere. The gap between the rich and the poor was widening, he said.

He said the Union Government, in particular the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, was seeking foreign direct investment and was opting for disinvestment in a big way. Both the Centre and the State Government were focusing attention only on information technology. A large number of public sector units were languishing. The most important among them was the National Textile Corporation. Four established textile mills in the State -- the Minerva mills and the Mysore Spinning Mills in Bangalore, the Yellamma Mills at Davangere and the MSK Mills in Gulbarga -- were being closed down., he added

Mr. Kantha alleged that the crisis following the abduction of the film actor, Mr. Rajkumar, had enabled the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, to put down the dissidents in the ruling party. "The kidnap case is being wantonly stretched to possibly suppress the efforts of the Home Minister, Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge, from securing the post of Chief Minister. Mr. Kharge has the support of nearly 75 MLAs," he said.

He appreciated the intervention of the Supreme Court in the "Veerappan associates case", and said the TADA detenus were criminals and should be tried as per the law. People who were associated with the forest brigand, Veerappan, were hardcore criminals, and their release would only strengthen the brigand, he said.

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Section  : Southern States
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