HE was still seething when I called him yesterday morning. Only the previous evening, Housing Minister D.T. Jayakumar had, at a media meet, called the NICE man as belonging to land mafia. At first he seemed to neglect the man who had hit him that way, then spoke about his detractor with complete disdain.

His attention drawn to DTJ diatribe, Kheny exploded: "Which party does he belong to? Ask him that. I don't care for those who switch loyalties to the side which throws the bone at him. You can quote me on this."

He was no less scathing of "his (DTJ') boss". His contempt was so complete that he didn't even utter his name, but only identified (him) as the former prime minister (who responds to the name H.D. Deve Gowda), according to whom "poor farmers live only near Bidadi and Ramanagaram" and go by such surnames as "Reddy's and Rao's".

Ashok Kheny vehemently claimed that the highest court of the land had ruled in his favour and what other vindication of his stand was necessary.

He has agreed for a fulller length interview; meanwhile, viewers and bloggers may continue to post their comments on Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor here. His attention has been drawn to the fact that www.mymysore.com, with its objective of throwing more light and less heat on issues of public import, attracts views, ideas and opinions from informed members of public, particularly in Mysore, the city which is projected (and feared) to go the Bangalore way. He understands the need for an extended public debate on the subject.