Thursday, May 26 2005 12:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: As he completes one year in office managing the coalition contradictions, Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh has maintained that he is under no pressure from the Congress coalition partner Janata Dal Secular (JDS) and that he is not being bulldozed by it but adopted a cautious approach on the longevity of his Ministry.

Unfazed by the constant nagging and pinpricks administered by the JDS and its supremo former Prime Minister H D Devegowda, Singh told sources in an interview on the eve of completing one year in office on May 28, "No pressure is there. I am quite free. I have discharged my duties."

Singh whose please all approach is attributed in political circles for the coalition being run without inviting major troubles so far, also did not fault the JDS for raising certain issues and said as a political party it was natural for it to do so and he had no problem in dealing with Gowda.

"No problem from Gowda. What is the problem from him," he said, seeking to pin the blame on media for suggesting that he was being troubled by the former Prime Minister.

"What they have bulldozed," Singh shot back on the perception that JDS was behaving like a dominant partner and he was being bulldozed into taking decisions that were convenient to it irrespective of whether it was palatable to the Congress or not.

Answering questions, Singh also asserted that the Government would not fall, noting that both Congress and JDS have come together to prevent the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from coming to power in Karnataka.

Singh however said, "... when other parties, if they feel we have to go for elections... in the present political circumstances, what is going to happen, I can't say. Plainly... I am saying this".

But, at the same time, he hastened to add that in his observation and the feedback that he had received, "Nobody is prepared for elections. If anybody takes a decision... what is going to happen... that also I can't say".

Asked if the Congress was ready for polls, Singh said, "As a national party we have to be ready. (We are) not confined to this State only. We are in the entire country".

Replying to a query, Singh drew the analogy of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre and the support of Left parties to it. He said the left parties did not join the celebrations to mark one year in office by the UPA but they were supporting UPA. "Like that here also, we have (a similar situation)".

Singh also refused to react to the frequent sniping at each other by the Congress and JDS leaders and Ministers. "Some Ministers may talk. I am not going to react. Then only, we are going to survive as the coalition Government".

Apparently irked by reports that he was being troubled so much that he showed files to Gowda, Singh said, "I am also a man. I am the Chief Minister. If calculatively, I am tolerant by nature, you say I am a weak Chief Minister. If I move fast, then you say I am fast".

Finding nothing wrong in Gowda taking up issues with him, he said Gowda was a former Prime Minister and an experienced politician whose party was part of the coalition Government.

Emphasising that it was not a single party rule, Singh said circumstances had forced the Congress and JDS to come together and form the coalition Government for the first time in Karnataka.

"I have worked with several Chief Ministers. Sonia Gandhi has blessed me and given the responsibility. When we are in politics, it is an opportunity to show our calibre". He also praised the JDS members of his Ministry saying they were competent and "they have all supported me".

Dismissing suggestions that there was a confrontationist approach towards each other by the Congress and JDS, Singh said, "As a political party... he (Gowda) is the head of JDS. He has to tell (certain things). As the Congress party, we will also tell".

As far as the welfare programmes were concerned, he said, the question of dominance of either of the two parties did not arise, as both have worked out the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and were implementing them accordingly.

He also gave a catalogue of the coalition Government's achievements, including extension of mid-day meal scheme for school children, "good" record in revenue mobilisation, food subsidy, increase in State plan outlay and the support extended to the IT and BT sectors in which the State has maintained its supremacy.

On the infrastructure development for Bangalore also, an issue on which the IT and BT leaders in city often complain, the Government had acted swiftly in relation to the Bangalore international airport and metro rail, he said.

On the naxalite menace, which has emerged as a major source of worry to his Government, Singh dismissed suggestions that the Government's thinking was muddled on the issue.

He said the Government looked at it as a "socio-economic problem" and that the "gun alone cannot solve it". It was also ready for a dialogue.

But since the naxalites had not come for a dialogue so far, the Government had decided to deploy the Special Task Force (STF) in the affected regions, particularly the Malnad areas where they have been trying to strike roots. He was confident that "It (STF deployment) will give results".

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patel had also emphasised at a recent conference of Chief Ministers that the naxal issue should be treated as a "socio-economic problem" while taking steps on the law and order front also.