BJP attacks Congress, JD(S) targets Shivakumar over Bengaluru’s rain miseries

Bengaluru: The Opposition BJP and JD(S), on Monday, took on the Congress government, especially Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, following the flooding in Bengaluru in the aftermath of heavy rains. 

While the BJP sought a White Paper on infrastructure spending in the city, it asked the government to release Rs 1,000 crore for relief efforts.

The JD(S) ridiculed Shivakumar’s ‘Brand Bengaluru’ campaign, calling it a ‘real estate-driven farce’.

The Opposition parties allege that two years of Congress rule had brought nothing but “advertisements, corruption and collapse,” warning that Bengaluru’s civic image and global standing were being irreparably damaged.

Former minister and BJP leader V Sunil Kumar mocked at the Congress government’s celebration of its two-year rule as ‘Sadhana Samavesha’ in Hosapete on Tuesday as a ‘cruel satire’ on the sufferings of Bengalureans.

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka echoed these concerns, accusing the government of turning a blind eye to the plight of residents in flood-hit areas like Sai Layout and Nandagokula Layout.

“Last year, they promised permanent solutions after similar floods. Today, the same localities are under water,” he said.

BJP state president B Y Vijayendra criticized the government’s handling of Bengaluru’s civic infrastructure, branding it as a ‘government of advertisements, not achievements’.

Highlighting issues like stalled Metro projects, worsening traffic and rising public dissatisfaction, he said, “Greater Bengaluru has now become Water Bengaluru. What has this government achieved other than photo ops and newspaper ads?”

The JD(S) held Shivakumar, incharge minister for Bengaluru, directly responsible for the civic crisis and called him ‘nalayak’ to handle the city’s administration.

JD(S) youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy said, “Brand Bengaluru has become Beach Bengaluru. Forget flyovers — Bengalureans now need boats.”

The party said, “Greater Bengaluru and brand Bengaluru are just hollow epithets. The only ones benefitting are Congress leaders and contractors. For the rest, it’s daily misery.”