Bangalore, Nov. 8 :     The nascent demand for a separate state of Kodagu in Karnataka gained momentum today after the Kodagu Rajya Mukti Morcha staged a rally in the city. Chief minister S.M. Krishna, who was earlier inclined to meet a morcha delegation, backed out under pressure from those opposing separate statehood. Krishna told reporters he would ignore the demand as it did not enjoy popular support. The chief minister said he had included three ministers from Kodagu in his Cabinet. The grievances on lack of development there would be addressed, he said. Though the rally itself was peaceful, the police lathicharged some activists of Kannada organisations who tried to disrupt it. In a memorandum to Governor Khurshed Alam Khan, Morcha convenor N.U. Nachappa demanded that a referendum be held to determine if Kodavas wanted to remain in Karnataka. Kodagu, he said, was a princely state which enjoyed separate statehood till 1956. Nachappa said if the Centre could agree to carve new states out of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, there was no reason why Kodagu could not regain its old status.