Saturday, October 1 2005 15:32 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: In the light of recent outbursts over the Coalition Government performance by Janata Dal-Secular (JDS), the Congress today (Oct 01, 2005) asked it to avoid 'public controversy'.

Reiterating that the Congress would not be party to destabilize the Coalition Government in Karnataka, Congress General Secretary A K Antony, in-charge of party affairs in the state, suggested to JDS leaders that if there were any problems they should be solved in house.

Refusing to be drawn into a debate over the criticisms made by JDS leaders including its supremo H D Deve Gowda and state unit Working President H D Kumaraswamy on the government performance, Antony speaking to the press remarked 'both parties should avoid public controversy'.

He further added that, "problems should be solved in house within the Government, within the Coordination Committee".

Antony, who reviewed the programmes initiated by the Government to honour promises held out by Congress in its election manifesto, rejected charges by some of his party men that the Chief Minister N Dharam Singh was being dictated by Gowda.

"I don't think the Chief Minister is dancing to the tunes of Gowda and his party", he said.

Antony also reiterated that the Congress high command was against early elections in Karnataka, wanted the coalition Government to continue and ruled out speculations regarding change in the leadership of Singh.

He complimented Singh for 'successfully' running a 'difficult coalition government' and expressed satisfaction over the overall performance.

"Inspite of teething problems, Singh has been able to carry on the coalition successfully. I compliment Singh for carrying out this difficult task", Antony said.

He said out of the 15 Congress ministers, 13 attended today's review meeting and briefed about achievements of their respective departments.

"In some, the ministers have taken initiative to launch programmes and polices, but, unfortunately, political controversies have overshadowed their achievements", he said referring to the political bickering between the coalition partners.

Antony said, at the same time, there were some failures and he has suggested to take steps to correct the lapses.

He said he suggested to the Government to improve infrastructure in Urban and Rural areas particularly in Bangalore city.

Former Andhra Pradesh Governor Kumudben Joshi and Congress Secretary, Irashad Baig participated in the review meeting.