Don’t interfere in our state’s affairs: Shivakumar tells Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday advised Kerala Chief Minister not to interfere in Karnataka’s affairs with regard to an anti-encroachment drive in North Bengaluru.
Vijayan on Friday strongly criticised the reported demolition of Muslim residential areas in Karnataka's capital, calling the action shocking and painful.
In a Facebook post, Vijayan referred to the reported bulldozing of Fakir Colony and Waseem Layout, where Muslim families had been living for many years.
“It is all a political statement. Without knowing the facts, Pinarayi should not interfere in our state’s affairs. These are all political gimmicks at the time of the elections,” Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president, told reporters here.
He said it was unfortunate that senior leaders like Pinarayi Vijayan commented on the matter without knowing the facts of the issues in Bengaluru.
“Some people had encroached. It’s a waste dump site. It was a quarry pit. It is a very dangerous place. A lot of health hazard is there and they (slum dwellers) illegally tried to occupy. It’s land grabbing. Our government and the local MLA said this is very dangerous,” the Deputy CM said.
He emphasised that the Congress government in Karnataka knows humanity and will give an alternative space as per the rules to the eligible people. According to him, the slum dwellers came and captured the land overnight. Barring a few, most of the encroachers are outsiders.
Asking Vijayan not to interfere in such affairs, Shivakumar said the Congress government knows Bengaluru well, and it does not want to entertain the slum created by land mafias.
“We tried to protect our land, and we are ready to give houses to those who are eligible, under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana. Our Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and I have directed officers to submit a report, which they did. Our leaders from Kerala have also spoken to me,” the Deputy CM said.
He clarified that no bulldozers were used in it. Instead, the government tried to protect the public place, which is in the heart of the city. “We can’t encourage slums like this. It is a site meant for waste management,” Shivakumar said.
He added that he would give a reply to the Kerala Chief Minister and would send him and also to the Congress leaders a report. According to him, slum clearance was a routine exercise.
“It is a routine thing that takes place in Bengaluru. You know that Bengaluru is not like Mumbai or any other city. We don’t have many slums in Bengaluru, and we don’t want to create slums in Bengaluru,” he underlined.
Shivakumar said the place where the slum had come up falls under the Byatarayanapura Assembly segment, represented by the Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.
The Deputy CM said Gowda is a very learned senior leader of the Congress party and the government who was aware of the fact regarding the status of the site. He was the one who directed officers not to allow any land grab attempts.
“No one should come and put up huts there. It is not a question of minorities or other people. We don’t want to hurt anyone but if anyone wants land and are eligible, we will definitely give houses,” Shivakumar explained. He also said that the Congress government has planned lakhs of houses in the city.
“Our CM and our Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan are in talks with the officers to find out how to rehabilitate them. Only genuine will be rehabilitated, not those who try to occupy government land without any reason,” the Congress state chief said.
Shivakumar said the land in question was notified nine years ago for solid waste management, where people built slums in the quarry pit overnight.
In his post, the Kerala Chief Minister said the incident reflected a form of minority-targeting politics seen earlier in North India and warned that such practices were now spreading to the South.
He alleged that entire families were forced out of their homes in harsh winter conditions and pushed onto the streets, leaving them with no choice but to flee.
Vijayan expressed surprise that what he described as "bulldozer justice" was carried out under a Congress-led government in Karnataka.
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No development, corruption at peak in Karnataka, alleges BJP's Vijayendra
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Saturday lashed out at the Siddaramaiah-led government, alleging that there was absolutely zero development in the state while corruption was at its peak.
He said the BJP would continue to "expose" the state government and its "failures".
Listing a series of issues, the BJP chief said the Congress dispensation headed by Siddaramaiah had failed on multiple fronts, be it the Dharmasthala issue, the hate speech Bill, the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede incident, the liquor policy or corruption-related cases.
Speaking to reporters here, Vijayendra alleged that corruption in the state had increased. There was a detection of Rs 14.5 crore of wealth from Sarfaraz Khan, who is considered close to Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and is on deputation in the Karnataka Housing Department.
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He also referred to the alleged ST Development scam, which took place during the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The Valmiki Development Corporation scam in Karnataka involved the misappropriation of around Rs 94 crore meant for Scheduled Tribes' welfare, with funds illegally transferred from Union Bank of India accounts to fake entities, implicating top officials, including former Minister Nagendra, in creating fake accounts and using funds for personal gain and elections.
"There is absolutely no development and there is highest level of corruption in Karnataka. There is zero progress and zero development,” he alleged.
Vijayendra further accused the state government of repeatedly blaming the Centre to “cover up its failures”, saying it claims that the central government is doing injustice to Karnataka.
Referring to the Hate Speech Bill passed by both Houses of the legislature in the recently concluded Assembly session in Belagavi, he alleged that the Siddaramaiah government was trying to suppress criticism and compared the move to the Emergency imposed in 1975 by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
"Why this hate speech bill? Because the Siddaramaiah government is unable to face the truth. They are trying to bring emergency. What happened in 1975 when Indira Gandhi brought emergency? the same policy has been followed by Siddaramaiah government. They are trying to attack media persons, they are also trying to stop social media users... They don't want any criticism," he said.
"We (BJP) are going to expose this Congress government, the failures of the Congress government, corruption of the Congress government. Corruption has gone to the peak," he alleged.
According to Vijayendra, investors were moving away from Karnataka due to what he termed the “anti-investor policies” of the state government.
Ather Electric scooters, Google and aerospace industries, which had earlier invested in Karnataka, were now moving away because of the state government’s "anti-investor policy".
"Youths are getting affected by this loss of employment. Inspite of this, nobody should question the state government. Is this democracy? Hence, we are questioning the state government and we want to expose this Congress government and its failures also," he added.
