Bid to tarnish Brand B'luru: Parameshwara

Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday rued Bengaluru was being portrayed in a bad light in the wake of reports of mass molestation during the new year celebrations.

“We cannot stop the media from showing what had happened.... But look how Bengaluru is being projected. You ... think about it. Is Bengaluru really like this?” he asked mediapersons when they sought his reaction to Bengaluru getting a bad press across the world.

He avoided a direct reply when asked if he had any doubts on whether molestation ever took place. Instead, he requested the media to provide photos and videos showing women being molested.

Bid to tarnish Brand B’luru image, says Parameshwara

Bengaluru is safe for women and children and the government is committed to providing them security, he asserted. Slammed widely for his response to the news of molestation on Brigade Road, the minister denied he had blamed Western culture for it. “My statements are quoted out of context. I never blamed Western culture or clothing.... I am not such a person to treat women in a different sense,” he said.

Parameshwara, who is also the state Congress president, did not rule out a conspiracy by the Opposition BJP to defame the Congress government. On Congress spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa’s charge that the BJP was behind the molestation, he said, “According to him, it could be true. I don’t want to make a political statement in the presence of police officers.”

Kalappa is also the legal adviser to the state government. DG&IG Om Prakash, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Praveen Sood and Parameshwara’s adviser Kempaiah were also present at the media conference. On the molestation of a woman in Kammanahalli, Parameshwara said it should not have happened. He said Governor Vajubhai Vala had sought a report on the incident and the government would submit it soon.

Cameras across the city
*The government will spend Rs 39 crore on installing 550 CCTV cameras in Bengaluru in two months.
*In the long run, police will instal 5,000 such cameras, Home Minister G Parameshwara said
*Phones connected to the toll-free police helpline 100, will go up from 15 to 100 at a cost of Rs 14 crore, he told reporters
*He also spoke about the government’s plan of increasing the number of women in the state police force from 5% to 20%.