Bengaluru (PTI): The Opposition in Karnataka on Monday blamed the ruling Congress government for letting rains overwhelm the city, claiming that despite crores of rupees being spent on infrastructure, the result was zero.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, also in charge of Bengaluru, said he was in touch with officials concerned and is "closely monitoring the situation".
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and MLA of Malleswaram, CN Ashwath Narayan criticised Shivakumar, saying, "Crores spent. Zero results."
Taking to 'X' he said: "Last night's rains didn't expose Bengaluru's infrastructure — they exposed @DKShivakumar's track record of the last two years of doing nothing."
Shivakumar also said in his 'X' post that he is deeply concerned by the havoc caused by relentless rains in Bengaluru.
"I've been in continuous touch with the concerned officers, and I'm closely monitoring the situation. As always, I remain committed to Bengaluru - working round the clock to address challenges and ensure relief. I will be visiting the BBMP War Room and flood-affected areas personally to take stock on the ground."
The Deputy Chief Minister agreed that the issues Bengaluru faces are not new.
"Let us be clear: the issues we face today are not new. They have been ignored for years, across governments and administrations. The only difference now is - we are working to solve them. Not with temporary fixes, but with long-term, sustainable solutions," he said further in his post on 'X'.
Shivakumar further reiterated that he stands with Bengalureans.
"To my fellow Bengalureans - I am one among you. I understand your concerns, I share your frustration, and I assure you of my commitment to resolving them. I stand with you," he wrote.
Earlier, Karnataka BJP General Secretary and MLA of Karkala, Sunil Kumar Karkala had challenged the government on 'X' to release a white paper on how much has actually been spent on Bengaluru's infrastructure in the last two years.
"Visit Silk Board once — you'll see your real contribution," he said.
Speaking at a press conference, BJP spokesperson Ashwath Narayan Gowda said "Despite the weatherman predicting heavy rainfall almost a week ago, there were no efforts made to meet any monsoon-related exigency. The Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is directly responsible for the rain havoc in the city”.
He alleged that the Deputy Chief Minister kept repeating ‘Brand Bengaluru’ and in the last assembly session, Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill was passed.
“From Brand Bengaluru to Greater Bengaluru, and now from Greater Bengaluru, it has now become ‘Submerged Bengaluru’. This is the achievement of the state government,” Gowda charged.
The BJP leader said no development works took place in the city in the past two years, which finally culminated in rain havoc.
“Maximum taxes in Karnataka are collected from Bengaluru, but the investment required on the basic infrastructure here is not being done,” the party spokesperson said.
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the Opposition is protesting for the right to vote for every Indian and demanded a "clean and pure" voter list, asserting that the issue of alleged irregularities pointed out by him will "explode" soon as it is not related to a single constituency but the whole country.
Indicating that he would not submit a signed affidavit as sought by the Election Commission, Gandhi asserted that the data analysed by the Congress to provide "proof" of "vote theft" is taken from the EC website.
"This is their data. It is not my data that I should sign. It is their data only and has been taken from their website. This is only a move to distract," he told reporters.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, who participated in a protest march by the opposition on the "vote theft" issue, said the Election Commission is "silent" as the truth is before the entire nation after his charge that over one lakh votes in an assembly constituency in Karnataka were found to be fake in a research conducted by his party.
"Another thing I want to tell is that this has not just happened in Bangalore, but in different constituencies across the country, and the Election Commission knows this. The EC knows that this data will explode. What it is trying to control and hide, we will bring it out, and it will explode. The EC knows this," he told reporters.
Gandhi was briefly detained along with others as police stopped the protest march by opposition MPs from Parliament House to the EC office.
"They (EC) cannot talk as the truth is before the entire nation," the Congress leader said as he was being taken away in a bus by the police.
"This fight is not political, but for saving the Constitution," he asserted.
This fight is for 'one man, one vote' and we want a clean, pure voter list," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha added.
He said all the MPs of the INDIA alliance were stopped and taken into custody when they were going to meet the Election Commission.
"The truth of 'vote theft' is now before the country. This fight is not political; it is a fight to protect democracy, the Constitution, and the right to ‘one person, one vote’.
"The united opposition and every voter in the country demand a clean and transparent voter list. And, we will secure this right at all costs," Gandhi claimed in a post on X later.
Gandhi had on Thursday cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to claim that over 1 lakh votes were "stolen" through five types of manipulation in Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka. He alleged there were 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 with fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters or single-address voters, 4,132 voters with invalid photos and 33,692 voters misusing Form 6 of new voters.