CM Siddaramaiah says Karnataka outspending Centre on Bengaluru metro
Bengaluru, Aug 10 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said the state has been spending more than the Centre on Bengaluru’s metro network, "even though the project is meant to be jointly funded", as he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the stage at the foundation-laying ceremony for Phase-3.
Speaking at the event, also attended by Union Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar and Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah said the metro is to be funded equally by the Centre and the state as per the agreement, but "the state is spending more on this project."
While acknowledging the Centre’s technical and financial assistance, he noted that much of it comes in the form of loans and equity, which the state must repay with interest. "So far, Rs 3,987 crore has been refunded," he said.
According to the chief minister, 96.10 km of metro lines have been completed, with the state spending Rs 25,387 crore and the Centre Rs 7,468.86 crore.
The 19.15 km Yellow Line, built at Rs 7,160 crore, will benefit 7.5 lakh passengers daily. Currently, nine lakh people use the metro, and the number is expected to rise to 12.5 lakh once the Yellow Line is operational, he said.
Siddaramaiah added Bengaluru’s rapid growth and heavy traffic made the metro essential.
The network is planned to expand to 220 km by 2030, serving 30 lakh daily passengers. Phases 1, 2, 2A, and 2B have been completed; Phase-3’s foundation has been laid, and Phase-3A will begin once the Centre grants clearance. Metro-4 will cover 53 km.
He also urged the PM to extend Karnataka the same priority given to Maharashtra and Gujarat, and thanked him for launching the Bengaluru–Belagavi Vande Bharat train.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
