The Hindu : Cong. defeat in Gujarat an eye-opener for all: Gowda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Cong. defeat in Gujarat an eye-opener for all: Gowda

By Our Staff Correspondent

HASSAN DEC. 22. The Janata Dal (S) President and former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, has said that the "fatwa" issued by imams to Muslims in Gujarat was the reason for dismal performance of the Congress in the recently held Assembly elections in that State.

Addressing presspersons here on Sunday before leaving for New Delhi, Mr. Gowda said that the defeat of the Congress was an eye-opener to all secular parties, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would adopt the strategy it used in Gujarat in the Assembly elections in nine States next year.

While analysing the election result in Gujarat, the former Prime Minister said that the BJP had lost its base in many States in the previous elections and it had experimented with "Hindutva" in Gujarat and got an unexpected result.

He said that the division of secular votes was also a reason for the victory of the BJP. With the help of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the BJP would make "Hindutva" a tool to fight the coming elections and it was imperative for all secular forces to regroup themselves to save the secular fabric of the country, he added.

Mr. Gowda criticised the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government's decision on the sugarcane growers' issue in Uttar Pradesh, and accused it of ad-hocism in every sphere.

He said that for the past three years, the Union Government had been taking only ad hoc steps in tackling the country's problems. It was not making efforts to find a permanent solution to the problems, he charged.

The former Prime Minister accused the Uttar Pradesh Government of conniving with sugar mill owners, which had brought misery to nearly one crore farmers and left the economy in the doldrums.

Mr. Gowda said that sugar mill owners were supposed to pay nearly Rs. 2,200 crore to farmers.

While the Uttar Pradesh Government was working against the interests of farmers, the Union Government was limiting itself to disinvestment of public sector units, inviting direct investments, and maintaining the GDP growth rate at eight per cent.

The former Prime Minister said he had raised the issue in Parliament, but did not get a favourable reply from the Prime Minister.

The demand of the JD (S) for allocation of 20 per cent in Plan funds to the agricultural sector and changing the lending policy had not been met, he added.

Mr. Gowda said that he would continue his fight against the "anti-farmer" policy of the Union Government in Parliament and outside.

To a question on the merger of the Janata Dal factions, Mr. Gowda said the party would abide by the decision taken by the President of the State unit of the JD(S), Siddaramaiah.

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