Government will proceed with Bidadi township: Deputy CM Shivakumar
Ramanagara (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the state government will proceed with the Bidadi Township.
He said he was not ready to go to jail like former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa by notifying lands for the project.
Addressing farmers protesting at the DC's office against land acquisition, he noted that he is also from Ramanagara district and reminded them of the 16,000 acres acquired earlier for the Bidadi industrial area, where several companies, including Toyota, set up factories. He added that he personally lost 12 acres of land for the industrial area.
Shivakumar said there had been discussions about borrowing Rs 10,000 crore to provide fair compensation to farmers.
He clarified that no additional land needs to be acquired, but lands already notified cannot be released as per the law.
About 70 per cent of landowners, including Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife and son, have sought compensation, indicating consent for acquisition, while 30 per cent are yet to give consent, Shivakumar noted.
The DCM explained that there is no legal provision to make a special decision for Bidadi, as any such move would set a precedent across the state.
Shivakumar highlighted that former MP and his brother DK Suresh and MLA H C Balakrishna have been actively working to support farmers.
He also noted that land acquisition plans are in place for the Upper Krishna and Mekedatu projects, while compensation is being paid for the Rs 27,000 crore Peripheral Ring Road project.
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee moves SC against SIR
New Delhi (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, sources said on Sunday.
The petition names the Election Commission (EC) and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal as respondents. It was filed before the apex court on January 28, the sources said.
Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at 4 pm on Monday to discuss the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo would be accompanied by a delegation of party leaders.
She is also likely to meet party MPs in the Parliament House on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for the national capital, Banerjee claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is resorting to the SIR exercise because it is certain of its imminent defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, due in a few months, and said the saffron party should contest the election politically and democratically.
The West Bengal chief minister has written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise.
In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing "immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens.
Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal.
