The audacity of the political class now does not spare even a BangaloreOne public utility centre.
In a blatant power play, the opening of one such centre at Chikka Devasandra at K R Puram was jeopardised by a political party which could not digest that it was inaugurated by a rival party corporator.
Frustrated by the local MLA’s frequent postponement of the centre’s opening, the e-governance department was in a quandary.
On Saturday, Congress corporator K Poornima took the initiative, went ahead and inaugurated the centre.
Violent drama
But it was only the beginning of a violent drama triggered by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has caused much embarrassment to the State government.
The centre is now shut.
Eyewitnesses told Deccan Herald that 20-odd supporters of K R Puram BJP legislator Nandish Reddy barged into the centre an hour after its launch and allegedly assaulted the local coordinator.
Officials of the e-governance department said the centre, which comes under Ward No 53 Basavanapura, had been ready for the past five months and they were waiting for the MLA to inaugurate it. However, Nandish is said to have postponed it several times.
Though the MLA proposed this Saturday for inauguration, he took a U-turn in the morning and proposed that invitations had to be handed over to everyone. In the meantime, the Congress supporters convinced the corporator to inaugurate it. When contacted, Nandish claimed that the fracas was caused by the locals who were unhappy about not being informed about the event.
Corporator Poornima confirmed that they had inaugurated the centre in the absence of the MLA and that his men had raised a ruckus. “Even though my supporters were against the opening of the centre, as it was located in Samudaya Bhavana, I had convinced them that it is a much-needed service for the citizens. The inauguration was scheduled for Saturday morning only because the MLA had confirmed his presence,” she claimed.
Though no complaint has been registered with the police, Principal Secretary of e-governance M N Vidyashankar said the issue would be brought to the notice of the government.
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