H.D. Kumaraswamy

TUMKUR: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said here on Sunday that he might quit his post much before the completion of his 20-month term in October.

Mr. Kumaraswamy arrived here by helicopter at 4.30 p.m. for his overnight stay at Chikknayakanahalli in Pavagada taluk of Tumkur District. This is his third overnight stay in the district. He addressed a series of public programmes before leaving for the village. Tight security was in place all through in the background of naxalite activities in the taluk.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said that he was aware of the anxiety in political circles over whether or not he would quit in October. "I am telling you that I may quit the post much before October," he said.

The Chief Minister said: "It is not that I reacted casually to the increasing instances of farmers' suicides and offered to quit. I am serious enough in the matter."

He said that the Congress, which ruled the State for more than 40 years, had left everyone helpless. "Even as Chief Minister, I am helpless in solving many problems faced by the people," he said.

"Congress leaders want me to deliver in 15 months what they failed to in 40 years," he said and ridiculed the Congress's demand for a White Paper on his "Gram Vastavya" programme.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said: "I did not learn a thing from the third floor of Vidhana Soudha nor from any senior officer in the Government. I learnt a lot from the people of the villages I stayed in. I am happy that I am away from my office (in Bangalore) for the last 15 days. I could travel far and wide from Bidar to Chamarajanagar and understand the problems of the people."

The Chief Minister said that security around him was a hurdle. "People with genuine problems cannot come to me," he said.

He said that youths were walking into the traps laid by naxalites because the Government had failed to provide them jobs

He said that even the funds sanctioned for pension of widows had been misappropriated.

He called upon Government officials to leave their offices and stay in villages to learn the problems faced by poor people.

"Copra prices fell steeply. Farmers were in a soup. I released money for direct purchase of copra from farmers. But, it was the traders who got the benefit, " Mr. Kumaraswamy said. Similar was the case with onion market in Hubli and the sugarcane crisis in Bidar, he added.

In Tumkur, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, the "meter baddi" (exorbitant interest) menace was raging. "Small traders are exploited. Private lenders levy abnormal interest. Interest is deducted even before it is accrued," he said.

The Chief Minister said banks in rural areas were unable to respond to the schemes of the Government. "I issued a cheque for Rs. 50,000 to a woman for hospital expenses in January. She could not encash it till April, when I intervened. Banks turned her away as she could not provide a proof of identity. She did not have even a ration card," Mr. Kumaraswamy said.

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