The Hindu : Rly. budget disappointing: Gowda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 28, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Rly. budget disappointing: Gowda
By Our Staff Reporter

KANCHEEPURAM, FEB. 27. Former Prime Minister and leader of the Janata Dal (Secular), H. D. Deve Gowda, termed the Railway budget ``disappointing'' and said no measures for growth and development had been announced.

``The schemes which I had initiated during my tenure as Prime Minister have remained pending for several years now. Apart from introduction of a few express trains, no thrust on growth had been given in the budget, Mr. Gowda told reporters here today.

He cautioned the Congress not to float on cloud nine after seeing the results in the just concluded Assembly elections. Citing the instance of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Gowda said that both the Congress and the BJP had lost much of their ground. ``Just because the Congress has won in the Assembly elections, it does not mean that they will come back to power at the Centre.'' In some States, the people have voted for the Congress as no other alternative to the BJP is available. In some other States, regional parties have their own stronghold. ``Compared to the BJP, the Congress is a lesser evil,'' he remarked. The NDA rule in Delhi is totally disappointing and they are implementing only the economic policies that had been initiated during the Congress regime.

The Centre, during his tenure, had taken earnest efforts to safeguard the prestigious PSUs, especially the `navratnas' but now they were being divested without any transparency. The industrial sector was being crippled and the agriculture output was declining.

The former Prime Minister said that such a government could not continue for long. As a single party rule was no more possible, a coalition was inevitable. So, the secular parties should come together to provide able governance.

On the AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa's success in the Assembly byelections, Mr. Gowda remarked that it was the `verdict of the people to make her as the Chief Minister.'

He was in the town to call on the acharyas of the Kanchi Mutt. He held discussions with the pontiffs between 12.15 p.m. and 1.30 p.m.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States