Will speak on 2G in parliament

BANGALORE: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said he will speak on the 2G spectrum scam and the recent Supreme Court judgment in the next Parliament session and welcomed the Supreme Court’s order on the 2G spectrum case. Asked if JD(S) will demand the resignation of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, he said, “I will speak about this in the upcoming Parliament session.” On Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah, Gowda said there was no need to demand his (Bopaiah) resignation as he should have quit long back. “He must take a moral stand after the Supreme Court verdict on independent MLAs,” he said. “Lal Bahadur Shastri, as railway minister, had offered to resign after he came to know about the train mishap. Even I had quit as minister. However, Bopaiah does not have the decency to do so,” he said.     The former prime minister termed the newly announced 4.5 per cent quota for Muslims within the 27 per cent quota for other backward communities (OBCs) as an “electoral gimmick”, in view of the upcoming Assembly elections to five states.‘Decrease VAT on gold by 1%’Bangalore: Former Prime Minister and MP H D Deve Gowda urged CM D V Sadananda Gowda to slash value-added tax (VAT) on gold and silver ornaments from two per cent to one per cent.Speaking on the sidelines of a function in the city on Friday, he said gold is a valuable metal and its cost has become dearer of late. The price of gold is increasing with every passing day and it will not fall. “When this is the case, 2 per cent of VAT will be an additional burden which will again fall on the customers and not the merchants. I urge the CM to consider this and decrease it to one per cent,” he added. Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Motamma was among those present.