Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore   

AIJD teams to tour all districts

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore May 14. The first meeting of the new team of office-bearers of the State unit of the All-India Janata Dal (AIJD) was held here today amidst demands from workers to hasten the merger with the Janata Dal (Secular).

Briefing presspersons after the meeting, the AIJD State unit President, C.Byre Gowda, and the Secretary-General, Basavaraja Rayaraddi, said senior leaders discussed the need to strengthen the party.

Twenty-eight teams had been constituted comprising present and former legislators and each team would intensively tour a given district.

The Malnad areas would be covered before the onset of the south-west monsoon. He said the presidents for all districts had been appointed and the focus would now be on constituting the taluk-level units and appointing presidents for them.

Among the district presidents are two former ministers, M.Varade Gowda for Bangalore Rural District and Amarnath Shetty for Dakshin Kannada District.

Referring to the "maladministration" of the State, the AIJD leader said the Government should pressure Maharashtra to release Bheema water. The State Government should not allow the issue to turn into a vexed problem like the Cauvery. The Government had remained quiet on the matter because the Congress was also in power in Maharashtra. If Maharashtra did not yield to the State's request, the Government should approach the apex court.

Mr. Byre Gowda said the Government should take steps to help meritorious students, particularly from poor families and rural areas, to obtain admission to professional colleges.

Efforts should be made to ensure that the Common Entrance Test was continued and the private professional colleges adhered to the list of selected students.

He criticised the Government for restricting the number of families eligible for subsidised foodgrains.

The Janata Dal Government had provided BPL cards, also known as green cards, to over 68 lakh families. The number had now been scaled down to 28 lakh. The survey conducted by the Union Government on the number of families living below the poverty line was improper and the State Government was only implementing its policies based on that report without verifying the facts, he said.

Mr. Byre Gowda said the AIJD would be registered with the Election Commission on May 28 and a letter would be sent to the presiding officers of the two Houses of the State Legislature seeking a separate block of seats for the AIJD legislators.

The AIJD Legislature Party leader would be announced shortly.

The former minister, P.G.R.Sindhia, ceased to be the leader after he refused to sign the letter and decided to remain with the JD(U), he said.

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