In the political corridor

H.D. KUMARASWAMY speaking to the press after the Cabinet meeting on June 13. - V. SREENIVASA MURTHY

L'AFFAIRE BMICP (Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project) has all the makings of a political thriller: a Chief Minister who accuses the company executing the project of trying to bribe him and says he will sacrifice anything, including his chair, to protect the interests of poor farmers; a patriarch who is calling the shots from behind the scenes; court cases; notifications for acquisition of land far in excess of the entitlement; and an open spat between the partners of the ruling coalition on how to handle the situation.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular) says he wants the public to know "in what all forms and to what extent the previous two Congress governments [headed by S.M. Krishna and N. Dharam Singh] colluded with the contractor [NICE] to defraud the State". To that end he wants to have a public debate on the issue before bringing in, at the earliest, legislation that would allow the government to take over the project, deposit the excess land in a land bank and then auction it. However, his partner in the ruling coalition, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), wants the government to take over only the excess land and hand it back to the original owners.

Matters came to a head on June 13 when a Cabinet meeting to discuss the issue happened after a delay of four hours. And no substantive mention was made of the proposed Bill or the project.

Said Kumaraswamy: "What is wrong about eliciting public opinion? Who is Ashok Kheny [managing director, NICE]? He is after all a contractor. He has been talking every day about the government. Should we fall at his feet? I am here to implement my responsibilities, not to satisfy coalition partners or anyone. And towards this end I am prepared to sacrifice anything, even the Chief Minister's post."

Elaborating the BJP's stand, Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa told Frontline that the excess land must be taken back and those who benefit by this move should be the farmers. But the project per se "should not be taken back since it would send the wrong signal to prospective investors, and also be seen as going against the orders of the Supreme Court which gave the go-ahead for the project".

"Why does the Chief Minister want a public debate on the Bill?" asked BJP State president Sadananda Gowda. "Nowhere in the country has it been a practice to discuss a Bill first and then take it to the floor of the legislature. Yes, the legislature has a right to take over the project, but just for vengeance you should not use the legislature," he added.

According to informed sources, the BJP's central leadership was not keen on allowing H.D. Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (Secular) president and former Prime Minister, to dictate every move on how the government should handle the project. The sources also said that the BJP's stand could be a fallout of the tug-of-war between the Yediyurappa faction in the party and the one owing allegiance to former Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar, who would very much like to have one of his men as the Deputy Chief Minister.

But the BJP's idea that the land can be given back to the owners may not be that easy to implement. Asks Deve Gowda: "Let the BJP first ask if it is legally possible to take away a portion of the contract. Let the project go ahead as it is, or it should be taken over completely. Half measures won't do. Anyway, it is for the government to decide." But it is obvious that Deve Gowda would like the project to be taken over.

Sources close to him told Frontline that neither Deve Gowda nor Kumaraswamy wants to be seen as blessing a project that on the surface at least is seen to be taking over farmers' lands and paying them a pittance. "Deve Gowda would rather have his son forgo the Chief Minister's post than see his party hand over farmers' lands to NICE."

The BJP's suggestion that another committee be set up to identify excess lands may not be legally tenable. Also, lands acquired under the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Act (as has been done in the case of the BMICP) cannot be handed back to the original owners. The BJP's suggestion is to amend the Act.

Kumaraswamy is hopeful that a solution will be worked out and that the BJP will come around, but the cracks in the coalition because of the BMICP are unlikely to mend easily.

RAVI SHARMA