It has taken DKS two years to realise what Bengalureans already knew: Vijayendra

Bengaluru: A day after Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, drew attention to the impossibility of finding a quick solution to the capital city’s traffic woes, the BJP leaders on Friday lashed out at the former for his inability to fix basic problems.

In a tongue-in-cheek jibe at the Deputy CM, state BJP president B Y Vijayendra said, “It’s shameful that it took Shivakumar two years to realise what everyone in the city already knew.”

Claiming that Bengaluru’s infrastructure had collapsed under the Congress government, Vijayendra charged, “Our once-thriving landscape has turned into an absolute eyesore. No surprises here! Everything that has been said about them (Congress) has come true. The Congress government has utterly failed to take steps to improve Bengaluru’s infrastructure.”

Aiming for the ‘Tunnel Road’ projects that Shivakumar has been touting as a probable solution to the traffic snarls plaguing Bengaluru’s roads, Vijayendra called on the Deputy CM to turn his attention primarily to fixing pothole-riddled roads, and overflowing sewers, besides taking steps to clear the garbage piling up on all streets.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka, meanwhile, opined that CM Siddaramaiah had erred in entrusting the ‘Bengaluru Development’ portfolio to Shivakumar.

Claiming that the Deputy CM had no interest in pursuing Bengaluru’s development, Ashoka added, “It’s shameful that Bengaluru has been orphaned under the Congress. No development has been undertaken in the state capital. Shivakumar’s honest confessions have proven that his own ‘Brand Bengaluru’ project has turned out to be the ‘Bad Bengaluru’ initiative.”

The LoP alleged that road infrastructure, not only in Bengaluru but across the state had collapsed entirely. Echoing Vijayendra’s observations about the twin-tunnel road project in Bengaluru, Ashoka said, “This government cannot boast of completing a single project, given that the pothole-riddled roads in Bengaluru bear out its many failures and falsities.”

BBMP elections: BJP to launch legal battle

Meanwhile, Ashoka said that the BJP had decided to constitute a 15-member team to launch a legal battle to ensure that elections were held to the largest civic body in Karnataka – the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Affirming the saffron party’s commitment to improving the city’s infrastructure, Ashoka said, “This can only be realised if elections are held to the BBMP. The BJP will not allow the state government to divide Bengaluru into six or seven divisions. Congress should not waste taxpayers’ money on dividing Bengaluru, but hold elections to BBMP without delay.”