Like it or not, BBMP polls should be held in May: Minister Ramalinga Reddy
Bengaluru, Feb 22 (PTI): Karnataka Transport and Muzrai Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Saturday said that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections must be held this May, "whether we like it or not."
The city has not had an elected municipal council since September 2020.
"This September, it will be five years without BBMP elections," said Reddy, the senior-most MLA in Bengaluru, who represents BTM Layout, when asked about the delay in holding the elections.
Noting that during S M Krishna's tenure as Chief Minister, elections were held on time in 2001, and again under the previous Siddaramaiah government in 2015, he said, "When the BJP was in power in 2008, elections were delayed by 2.8 years. Similarly, the BJP government did not hold polls in 2020."
Defending the Congress government regarding the delay, Reddy said that the postponement is due to the government's plans to create a Greater Bengaluru Authority.
"We have to hold elections in May, whether we like it or not. Otherwise, the Supreme Court will issue directions (to conduct the polls)," he said in response to a question.
In July last year, the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill was referred to a joint select committee headed by Shivajinagar Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad.
The committee is likely to submit its report to Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Monday.
The Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill allows for the creation of up to 10 municipal corporations in Bengaluru.
Reddy also expressed his opinion that the city must have multiple corporations.
"If we want to serve the people of Bengaluru, a single corporation will definitely not be enough. One commissioner cannot oversee the entire city. We need two or three corporations to ensure proper roads, streetlights, parks, playgrounds, and stormwater drains," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
