CM Siddaramaiah, DKS under pressure to allot homes to encroachers from Kerala: B Y Vijayendra

Belagavi: Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Tuesday alleged that AICC general secretary K C Venugopal was exerting pressure on both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar to allot houses, which should rightfully be handed over to Kannadigas, to people from Kerala, the illegal homes of whom were demolished in Kogilu Layout in Bengaluru.

Vijayendra, interacting with journalists in Belagavi, said that the BJP would not allow Kannadigas’ interests to be trampled upon. “At the core committee meeting of our party scheduled on January 5, we will discuss the Congress government’s attempts to allot houses to encroachers from Kerala, besides deliberating on the problem of drug trafficking in the state, and unpaid dues to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore to beneficiaries of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme,” said the Karnataka BJP chief.

Vijayendra further alleged that Shivakumar had changed tack on the demolition of illegal buildings following Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s condemnation of the state government’s actions. “Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are trying to save their chairs, and along with Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, are sacrificing the interests of Kannadigas,” added Vijayendra.

The state BJP chief pointed to Siddaramaiah’s decisions to compensate victims of natural tragedies in neighbouring Kerala, which contrasted with the state government’s failure to ensure the rehabilitation of flood victims in Karnataka.