Report by Michael Rodrigues
Team Mangalorean Udupi

Udupi: "State law minister Suresh Kumar's site controversy should not be dealt in the state high court, instead, it must be handed over to CBI,"  said  Janardhana Poojary,  former Rajya Sabha member here on Wednesday, June 27.

Speaking to mediapersons, he said, "The BJP is behaving most irresponsibly now and it is becoming the laughing-stock of the people. Sadananda Gowda is the CM just for name's sake. There is no government functioning in the state. The government is neck-deep in corruption."

Their partymen could not visit drought-affected areas and could not offer any relief to them.   Ministers including the CM have criminal cases against them in courts.   Sadananda Gowda himself has obtained a site for himself of Jeevraj, another MLA, illegally constructing a commercial complex, breaking the BDA rules", he charged.

"Nirani is facing charges of acquiring land through forged documents and then selling it.   Housing minister Somanna  is into a land scam, Yogeshwar has sold government land converting it into sites for sale, and almost every minister has court cases upon them.  For the last 4 months,  there has been infighting, solely for the purpose of the changing the chief minister. The ministers being in confusion do not attend to their duties. Officials also do not obey the ministers either," he added.

"When we first heard of the state law minister tendering his resignation soon after the charges of acquiring BDA site unlawfully were levelled,  we thought that he was going to be a model to the entire nation.  While assuming that he could join the category of personalities like one-time railway minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, former state minister Rama Rao and union minister Madhava Rao Scindia, we now hear that he has withdrawn his resignation which he tendered earlier. He has fallen into the same slush," he taunted.

"Soon after it was reported that the state law minister had obtained a site unlawfully, nobody had asked for his resignation.  I do not understand what to say about the move of the CM and the state law minister asking for a report to be issued by the state's advocate general. The CM trying to shield the state law minister of his offences he must explain this.  The advocate general, instead of giving his opinion, has, in the form of a report, said the same things which Suresh Kumar had stated. He has not done anything beyond that. After hearing the charges against the minister, instead of holding a judicial inquiry, the CM issues a clean chit to him, which is not fair. The state government cannot give justice to this issue. Hence it must be referred to the CBI Investigating Agency," he further said.

He argued that there was no need to give sites to MLAs or MPs. Citing his own case, he said he had not obtained a single site since he was first elected in 1977.  "There is a legislators' home for MLAs.  They can use the same when they are in Bangalore. The sites given to MLAs should be allotted to the deserving public. The system of allotting sites to MLAs should be totally abolished," he contended.

"Eshwarappa is also now in the hot chase of the CM's seat. BSY should never make Eshwarappa the CM, till his last breath.  He has already been cheated by D V Sadananda Gowda for reposing trust in him.  Moreover,  BSY has already abused Eshwarappa in  the worst possible language. So, I do not think BSY would jump during daytime into a well spotted in the night," he said cryptically.

Alevoor grama panchayath president Alevoor Harish Kini, Congress leaders Ashok Kumar Kodavoor, Harikrishna Bantwal and Sanjeeva Moily were present in the press meet.