West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee meets HD Kumaraswamy
Kolkata, March 24: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee meet JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy at her residence here on Friday.
The former Karnataka chief minister arrived in the city earlier in the day and reached Banerjee's residence at around 4.50 PM.
According to sources in the TMC, the two leaders discussed the present political situation in the country and the way forward to fight and defeat BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.
"Former CM of Karnataka and @JanataDal_S leader Shri @hd_kumaraswamy called upon Hon'ble CM Smt @MamataOfficial today, in Kalighat, Kolkata," the AITC tweeted.
According to TMC leaders, meetings with non-BJP and non-Congress leaders are part of the party's efforts to cobble up an opposition unity with regional powers.
Kumaraswamy on his arrival at the airport had dubbed the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha MP as "political vendetta of the BJP".
He had attended the meeting of opposition parties convened by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the city in January 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha poll that year.
Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha on Friday, a day after he was convicted by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
Announcing his disqualification, the Lok Sabha secretariat in a notification said that it was effective from March 23, the day of his conviction.
Former CM of Karnataka and @JanataDal_S leader Shri @hd_kumaraswamy called upon Hon'ble CM Smt @MamataOfficial today, in Kalighat, Kolkata.
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) March 24, 2023
Few glimpses from the meeting 👇 pic.twitter.com/0iitS70Gwy
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Bengaluru MLAs 'blackmailing' us, says Deputy CM DK Shivakumar as garbage crisis worsens
Bengaluru, Mar 14 (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday alleged that the city MLAs across political parties are "blackmailing" the government over Bengaluru's garbage crisis.
Referring to them as "blackmailers" in the Legislative Council, he claimed that these MLAs are demanding Rs 800 crore in development funds.
He further alleged there is a "big mafia" controlling the city's solid waste management.
The Deputy CM was replying to MLC M Nagaraju’s question on the garbage issue in the city.
Nagaraju pointed out that many garbage transporting vehicles are stranded on the roads due to lack of waste disposal facilities. He also expressed concerns about waste not being cleared from the city.
“I have seen reports about the garbage problem in the media. There is a big mafia. The garbage contractors have formed a cartel and quoted prices 85 per cent higher than the standard rates. Now, they have approached the court preventing us from taking action,” Shivakumar, who is Bengaluru Development Minister, told the Council.
He further claimed that legal hurdles are delaying government efforts to streamline solid waste management.
Shivakumar revealed that the government had planned to divide the city's garbage disposal work into four packages and transport waste 50 km away, but the initiative has been stalled.
“Our Bengaluru MLAs are blackmailing us. I don’t want to name them. I am telling you the fact. They are from all the parties. They want Rs 800 crore as development funds. I cannot take their names here.”
He told the Council that for the past three days vehicles were stranded in Mahadevapura in the city.
Noting that he wanted to take the garbage at least 50 km away from the city, the Deputy CM appealed to the MLAs to help the BBMP identify 100 acres land in Kolar, Nelamangala, Kanakapura Road, or next to a forest land.
“I (government) will purchase it (land) and get a permanent solution. I asked the Industries Minister for 100 acres land, to which he wondered whether garbage be dumped inside industries?” Shivakumar said.
The Deputy CM said the experiment to generate power has failed.
“I had been to Hyderabad and Chennai. All electric (units) have failed. The only option is gas. There is a chance to generate gas. I had seen it at three to four places,” he opined.
Two locations have been identified for waste disposal – one is with the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Road authorities and another one in Doddaballapura.
According to him, technologies exist to manage waste disposal efficiently without causing inconvenience to anyone or contaminating groundwater through leachate.
Shivakumar pointed out that all the governments have failed to find a humane solution to the garbage issue.
“What was done in the past was not done from the human perspective. Siddaramaiah and even the BJP had made promises but ultimately we have failed. We have to make a respectful arrangement for garbage disposal,” he noted.
He told the House that he would give a detailed reply on the issue on Monday.
