Agriculture and food processing minister Umesh Katti has a penchant for courting controversy. His recent comments on separate statehood for North Karnataka, led to an uproar from intellectuals and pro-Kannada activists. Mr Katti had to rush to clarify that he did not intend to hurt the sentiments of writers and Kannadigas.

The Belgaum strongman has his reasons for sticking to his independent views. He does not need the backing of any party to win the assembly polls from Hukkeri. In the past, he had contested elections on the Janata Dal, Congress and Janata Dal (S) tickets and won. There are leaders in the BSY camp who say he is the only one who takes on the former chief minister in closed door meetings. In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, Mr Katti spoke about current political issues. Excerpts:

As in-charge minister of Belgaum district, you must be a happy man after the inauguration of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha?

I am happy because the project was completed when I was the minister in charge of the district. The construction of the building commenced four years ago when B.S. Yeddyurappa was CM. It was inaugurated when Mr Jagadish Shettar was in the chief minister’s seat. This was a long pending demand and the common man’s wish has been fulfilled.

The inaugural event of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha resembled a big festival. Did BJP try to encash on this achievement by inviting over a lakh people from Bombay-Karnataka region to witness the event?

No, absolutely not. Suvarna Vidhana Soudha would have been inaugurated some day in the future if not now. After the construction was over, we decided to inaugurate it. There is no politics involved, one need not read between the lines.

Many IAS officers feel it is a national waste to spend Rs 400 crore on a building which will be operational for not more than a month in a year when the session is held in Belgaum.

I may be harsh in my comparison but do you think Mysore palace is a waste because it is not used for any official purpose now? We cannot view things from this angle.

Moving on, what did you mean when you said a separate state of North Karnataka should be created?

I have already clarified on this controversy. I am not the only one demanding a separate state. I was only echoing the sentiments of lakhs of people of north Karnataka. The question then arises: Why have people of the region started to think like this? The city where the seat of power is located, will grow and so will areas around it. Forget about western countries. Take New Delhi for example. Do you know how fast the areas around Delhi are growing? If a separate state is created, obviously the pace of development will pick up. This is not my view. Economists and intellectuals have been saying this for a long time. One should not assume that I made an anti-Kannada statement.
There is talk that the demand for a separate state has a caste angle too. Once two states are created, then no other community can challenge the two dominant communities-Vokkaligas and Lingayats.

I do not agree. How can you rule the state without the support of OBCs, SCs, STs and minorities?

They are large in numbers across the state. In the past, Brahmins ruled several states though they were not present in large numbers if you see the population then. I personally feel it would be inappropriate to divide the state on caste lines.

You are close to Mr Yeddyurappa. Still, you do not want to speak about his political moves.

I have completed 27 years in public life. I was a minister for 10 years and for the remaining period, I worked as an ordinary MLA. I have never lusted for power. This is not the right time to speak about Mr Yeddyurappa’s moves.
It was you and many of your colleagues besides Mr Yeddyurappa who lobbied hard for a change of leadership and made Jagadish Shettar chief minister. Now, there is a rumour that you are not happy with BJP.

It was Mr Yeddyurappa who played a major role in making Sadananda Gowda CM. You know it was he again who played the main role in making Jagadish Shettar CM.