K'taka: BJP takes dig at Cong-led govt with 'Loot as its Duty' poster jibe

Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) Ahead of the Congress government’s "Sadhana Samavesha" (Achievement Convention) scheduled for Tuesday (May 20) to mark two years in office, the BJP released a poster titled “Karnataka Loot Congress Duty.”

Present at the poster release event were BJP State Chief Spokesperson Ashwath Narayan, Bengaluru North District President S. Harish, spokesperson Prakash Shesharaghavachar, SC Morcha office secretary G. Prashanth, and party leader C. Munikrishna.

Speaking to the media on Monday at the BJP state office, Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru, Ashwath Narayan said the Congress government is organizing the event in Hosapet, Vijayanagara district, to showcase its achievements over the past two years. However, he mocked the event by saying that the trailer of the Congress government's "achievement film" was already released in Bengaluru in the form of heavy rains, and the full film is yet to come.

He criticised Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for the recent rain-induced chaos in Bengaluru, blaming him directly. Despite the weather department issuing an advance warning about the rains a week ago, the government failed to take any precautionary measures, he alleged.

Ashwath Narayan said: “The government touted Bengaluru as 'Brand Bengaluru' for the past two years and passed the Greater Bengaluru Bill in the last session. But what we see now is that Brand Bengaluru became Greater Bengaluru, and Greater Bengaluru has turned into Flooded Bengaluru. This is the true achievement of this government.”

He alleged that although the government collects crores in tax revenue from the city, D.K. Shivakumar has not undertaken a single significant development project in Bengaluru. Instead, he is busy publishing ads in newspapers as a form of publicity, which is being portrayed as his achievement.

Ashwath Narayan pointed out that the Indian Meteorological Department had predicted that monsoon would start in early June, even as early as the first week of May. Yet neither the state government nor the Bengaluru Civic agency, which oversees Greater Bengaluru, took any preventive action to manage the situation.

He expressed disappointment that BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath is spending time issuing statements with D.K. Shivakumar in newspapers rather than doing any real work. He alleged that no meaningful work has been carried out by the commissioner.

He noted that areas like Sai Layout, South Bengaluru, and Arakere are known flood-prone zones that get inundated every time it rains. Despite this, neither the elected representatives of those areas nor BBMP nor Minister D.K. Shivakumar took any preventive measures, making D.K. Shivakumar directly responsible for the rain havoc, he said.

Bengaluru North District President S. Harish stated that due to D.K. Shivakumar's style of governance, both the Brand and Greater Bengaluru have collapsed.

He criticised Shivakumar for sitting in another district and tweeting, ignoring the hardships faced by Bengaluru residents.

He added that the absence of corporators in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is a major reason for the neglect. Bengaluru has four major valleys - Hebbal, Challaghatta, Vrishabhavathi, and Koramangala -- that cover nearly 700 km. Previously, all the stormwater drains in these valleys were cleaned and blockages were cleared before the monsoon season.

“Today, however, this government claims to have no money for drain cleaning or pothole filling, but falsely promises to construct tunnel roads costing Rs 30 to Rs 40 crore,” Harish said.

He reminded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar that when floods previously affected Sai Layout, both of them visited the site in a boat and promised a permanent solution. But now, the people there curse the government for failing to act. Instead of addressing such issues, the government is focusing on organising achievement conventions, Harish said.

He questioned the purpose of the event, asking what achievements the Congress government could boast of when they have ignored the real problems of Bengaluru and the state.

Meanwhile, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council stated in Chamarajanagar, "The Congress is preparing for a grand celebration to mark its two years in power, but this is not a “Sadhana Samavesha” (achievement convention); it is a “Vedaneya Samavesha” (convention of suffering) for the people."

He questioned how any achievements could exist without real development and sarcastically advised the government to rename the event as a “Convention of Suffering” instead.

He attacked the Congress for choosing Hospet near Hampi, a sacred place where the rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire once reigned, as the venue for their celebration.

“You’re going to such a historic site to celebrate betrayal and deceit towards the people,” he said.

Challenging them, he added, “Go ahead and talk about rising prices there. Tell the people how many you have wronged. Go on and speak about your corruption too.”

He asked how the city could become a “Greater Bengaluru” when no development work had been done. “First, you called it Brand Bengaluru. Now it has become Brandy Bengaluru,” he mocked.

“Now you’re calling it Greater Bengaluru? It’s nothing but the ‘Greater Mistake of Congress’,” he remarked.

He further questioned the allocation of funds to a school linked to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge’s family. “On one hand, you claim there's no money. Yet you gave Rs 9.90 crore to build a compound wall and toilets for Kharge’s school. Is there such fear when you see Kharge?” he asked.

He pointed out that Kharge’s son Minister Priyank Kharge makes loud public statements targeting the BJP, while the family owned organization comprising — his father, the AICC President and leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, son-in-law is the Congress MP, and other relatives as office bearers—was granted 5 acres of land near the airport for their institution.

“They grabbed the land overnight. Only after we raised the issue did they hurriedly return it,” he alleged.

He added, “This government doesn’t even provide money for students to pay their fees. Can’t the school management build a toilet on their own? Was the compound wall so urgent?” He concluded by accusing the government of prioritizing corruption over people’s welfare.

--IANS

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