Deve Gowda wants CAG to look into NICE affairs

Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda on Wednesday questioned why “the fraud” of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project has not come under the scanner of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).”

Gowda, who appeared to be miffed with the case filed against him in the Lokayukta special court, maintained that he had sought a CBI probe into the BMIC project being implemented by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) when TN Chaturvedi was the governor of the state. The former prime minister was addressing a press conference.

“I welcome the investigation being conducted against me. I would love to appear before the Lokayukta special court. I even appeared in the court when I was the PWD minister in the 1990s. I have no hesitation or reservations over such things,” he maintained.
“Even the government of India had given certain concessions to NICE which went on to rob poor farmers of thousands of acres of land. The CAG and CBI should investigate the matter,” he demanded.

Gowda maintained that he had taken decisions to protect the land of poor farmers, which is now being robbed systematically in the name of development. When asked about the granting of an additional township to NICE when he was the chief minister, Gowda said that he had taken the decision lawfully and he had not done anything wrong.