Gowda loses cool over Article 371

GULBARGA: Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda lost his temper in a press conference at Chincholi town over the issue of amending Article 371 with regard to Hyderabad-Karnataka region.The chief minister visited the town on the occasion of Chincholi legislator Sunil Valyapure’s 46th birthday celebration. Addressing a press conference, the CM showed his utter disappointment with the Centre over the delay in amending Article 371 of the Constitution. He said the state Government would confront the Centre if it failed to present the bill to amend Article 371 of the Constitution in March 12 budget session.Gowda said a few months ago, Union Home Minister Chidambaram assured him and the activists of Hyderabad-Karnataka Horata Samithi that the bill would be presented in Parliament.The state submitted the proposal in which the Amendment to Article 371 on Telangana Model [B Model] and Vidarbha model [D] were incorporated, he added. According to him, the bill was supposed to be presented in the winter session. Gowda said he would be taking an all-party delegation to New Delhi before the upcoming budget session.The comments made by Mysore MP Vishwanath also peeved the CM. Vishwanath said the state government was ruled indirectly by the Janata Dal leaders. In response, the CM said, “Is he a man? He is only a loud speaker.”Nobody asked me to step down: DVSGulbarga: Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda dismissed media reports that former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa sent BJP state chief K S Eshwarappa to the CM’s house requesting Gowda to step down from his post.“Nobody asked me to step down from the CM’s post. I am busy in preparing the budget. The party high command has asked me to concentrate on development works and to attend core committee meeting in New Delhi on March 3,” Gowda said.When reporters wanted to know whether the core committee meeting would discuss the leadership issue in the state too, Gowda said he was unaware of the meeting agenda. Referring to the former CM, Gowda said,“Yeddyurappa is a senior leader of the BJP and should be given a suitable position in the party. The high command would decide it.”