Bengaluru: The Karnataka BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress government of reversing its stand on the proposed Bidadi Township project, with Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka alleging that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was trying to gain public sympathy by constituting a House committee.
Addressing a press conference, Ashoka claimed that neither the BJP nor the JD(S) governments had issued final land acquisition orders for the project. He said former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had only initiated preliminary proceedings and had assured the Assembly that the project would not be implemented against the wishes of farmers. He also asserted that former BJP chief ministers B.S. Yediyurappa, D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar did not proceed with land acquisition.
Ashoka alleged that the Congress had opposed the township project while in the Opposition, with Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar raising objections in the Assembly and a KPCC fact-finding committee reportedly recommending that the project be dropped.
However, he claimed that during Siddaramaiah’s tenure in 2016, the Congress government approved the Greater Bengaluru Bidadi Smart City Project covering 38 villages and later constituted the project area authority. He further alleged that subsequent government notifications indicated that the project was being revived.
Questioning the purpose of the newly formed House committee, Ashoka said it was a political exercise intended to delay the issue until after the Assembly session rather than address farmers’ concerns. He alleged that the government could proceed with land acquisition once the committee submits its report.
Stating that farmers were not demanding denotification but wanted the acquisition process to be abandoned altogether, Ashoka warned that ignoring their concerns could have serious political consequences for the Congress government.
