BANGALORE: There seems to be no respite in the ongoing battle between the BJP and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda with the former planning to bring out a white paper on the questionable circumstances under which the land acquired for industrial purposes were dropped by the JD government in mid-90s and also the non-payment of compensation to the farmers whose lands were acquired. While Gowda headed the JD government from October 1994 to April 1996, it was later headed by late J H Patel, but in both the regimes Gowda’s son H D Revanna was a Cabinet minister. “The idea of bringing out a white paper is to buttress our argument that Gowda was not a friend of farmers in the real sense of the word and was selective in awarding compensation to the lands that were acquired,” a top official of the KIADB told Express. When contacted, Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani confirmed of the loud thinking of the government to bring out such a white paper but refused to comment on its details. According to sources, land acquisition was dropped citing illogical reasons. “It looks like that the lands of the farmers were acquired for revenge or vengeance, which is more acute in Hassan, the personal fiefdom of Gowda and his sons. We are coming out with all such cases in the form of a document that will be the mainstay of the charge-sheet,” KIADB sources added. KIADB sources claimed that there have many instances where compensation has still not been paid to the farmers, whose lands were acquired by the JD government in the mid-90s. “Many of such cases are found in Hassan, Bijapur and Bagalkot. There may be some legal complications in awarding compensation but the fact is that Gowda and his son who have been in power for almost two decades in one form or the other could have resolved if they had genuine commitment and concern,” an official said.
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