Tuesday, April 26 2005 19:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Even as the sparring between the coalition Government partners on the issue of land-grabbing heightened, JDS (Janata Dal Secular) chief H D Deve Gowda today (Apr 26, 2005) dismissed Congress leaders demand for calling off his party's April 30 rally in Bangalore to highlight land-grabbing and asserted "nobody can stop" it.

A day after 40 prominent Congress leaders of Vokkaliga community mounted a scathing attack on Gowda accusing him of adopting "double standards for political gains" over the land-grabbing issue, the former Prime Minister rejected the one-month deadline set by these leaders to prove his charges with documentary evidence failing they demanded his apology.

At a hurriedly convened press conference in Bangalore, Gowda, whose party has been a partner in the Congress-led Government since eleven months told the Congress, "I cannot be cowed down by threats. Does the Congress have fears about my party's rally? Has it sent jitters to them"?

Gowda is under attack from Congress leaders after he announced plans to hold a rally of slum dwellers where he is expected to highlight land-grabbing issue, which the Congress feels is targetted at former Chief Minister S M Krishna, now Governor of Maharashtra, and few others of the previous Government. In a tough response, Gowda today hit back at Congress saying "I need not learn lessons from Congress".

Claiming that it was his Janata Dal Government in 1995, which implemented a programme to grant ownership rights to slum dwellers and subsidised foodgrain supply scheme in 1996 when he was the Prime Minister, he said it was not done by the Congress despite its 45 year rule.

Gowda said he had records to prove that about 45,000 acres of land has been encroached by land-grabbers and would provide it, if Chief Minister N Dharam Singh failed to act against guilty.

Reiterating that the rally was not against the coalition Government, Gowda said the Chief Minister has promised to invoke Goonda Act against land-grabbers.

"I don't want to doubt his (Dharam Singh's) bonafides," he said.

When his attention was drawn to the charge by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader B S Yediyurappa that Gowda allotted land to a private company when he was the Chief Minister, he said, "I am prepared to face any probe including by CBI. Laloo Prasad Yadav has been chargesheeted in fodder scam. Will they spare me, if I am guilty," he said.

Gowda said he has written to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking release of funds for development infrastructure facilities in slums.