With a 'chargesheet', BJP lists flaws and failures of Congress in Karnataka

Bengaluru has been reduced to a “garbage and crime city” under the Congress rule, charged Union minister and Karnataka in-charge Prakash Javadekar on Thursday, soon after releasing a “chargesheet” titled Lekka Kodi Bengalurina Janarige (give accounts to people of Bengaluru) against the Siddaramaiah government.

Javadekar, who announced the launch of the 14-day Bengaluru Rakshisi Yatra (save Bengaluru campaign), that begins on March 2, said the rally would pass through all 28 assembly constituencies in Bengaluru, to highlight the “failures” of the state government.

The city tour of sitting BJP MLAs is significant as anti-incumbency factor is an issue for the ruling party to be worried about in the urban areas, and especially in Bengaluru, which is crumbling under serious infrastructure deficit.

“While the rural distress was known, we are now witnessing how Bengaluru is being reduced to a garbage and crime city. This is a people's campaign against the government that is basking in arrogance of power,” he added.

“A decent city has been converted into a crime city. A peaceful city is now a goondaraj. Over the last few months, we have witnessed a Congress leader throwing petrol inside a government office, a Congress MLA's son attacking a youth, goondas attacking even the police, thieves robbing inspector's house and snatching away their revolvers. Once considered a safe city for women, it is now reporting rapes, abduction and chain-snatching. This is the transformation the Congress government has brought in,” charged Javadekar, who also alleged that the state government was plundering and looting all the Central welfare schemes.

“Despite the Central schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Amrit Yojna, the state government is not utilising them to upgrade the city. In some cases, the Congress appropriating certain schemes as their own and we (BJP) would readily pardon such claims as it it a federal system. But we see that our schemes are being misused. There is a scam in everything, including in garbage management. Honest officers are committing suicide, and those don't facilitate corruption are being shunted out. The city has witnessed road accidents and 16 pothole-related deaths. The lakes are on fire, and there are traffic snarls,” said Javadekar.

Responding to a query on Sidadramaiah's charge that BJP is filled with leaders who had been to jail for corruption, Javadekar said the reply to this charge had already been given. He added that AICC chief Rahul Gandhi too was out on bail.

Former home minister and one of the city MLAs R. Ashok alleged that the city has become unsafe and had pathetic infrastructure. “The penalty collected for traffic violations alone is Rs 102 crore. But that money is being pocketed instead of spending it on improving the roads or traffic situation. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft and several pharma firms are moving out of Bengaluru, Hindu activists are being killed, a Congress leader even threw petrol, threatening to burn a government office. The Congress government has pushed the peace-loving city to become a goondaraj,” said Ashok, adding that the upcoming rally would cover all 198 wards and demand the government to provide accounts for the money spent on various development projects.

While the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (city corporation) winning 101 out of the 198 wards, the JD(S)-Congress coalition is ruling the city council. Meanwhile, the city with 28 assembly segments saw the BJP bag 12 seats, the Congress 13 and the JD(S) win three seats in the 2013 assembly polls.

What does the chargesheet say?

—In Bengaluru city, the Congress claims 24,000 potholes have been filled at a cost of Rs 4,600 crore, while the state of roads continues to remain in pathetic conditions.

—The controversial steel bridge, costing RS 1,800 crore, was planned by the Congress to fund the Uttar Pradesh election. But vehement protests by citizens forced the government to drop it.

—Real estate dons of Congress K.J. George and M. Krishnappa have ensured that the Bangalore Master Plan 2031 allows for rampant land use conversions.

—CM Siddaramaiah is using the master plan to reduce the total forested area by 79 per cent, from 27.53 sq km to a mere 5.7 sq km.

—The BBMP, ruled by the Congress, has failed to curb concretisation, encroachment of lakes and catchments areas.

—Government apathy has driven out technology majors like Amazon and Microsoft to Hyderabad. Triumph Motorcycles dropped its plan to invest Rs 850 crore in Bengaluru, citing lackadaisical attitude. AstraZeneca too announced shut down of its centre. Quest Global which employs 3,000 people in Bengaluru, set up its new centre at Thiruvananthapuram, citing it wanted its employees to have a life outside traffic and work. With BBMP hiking city property taxes for businesses, MSMEs are exiting. Many employers have shifted their units or operations to Pune, Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bhubaneshwar, causing loss of jobs to Kannadigas.

—Nine lakh illegal Bangaldeshi immigrants have settled in the city, as the Congress wants to bolster its electoral prospects. Illegal settlements also provide real estate mafia cheap labour.

—The city is a killing field for Hindus with murderers of Rudresh and K. Vasu being found to be belonging to terror-linked Popular Front of India.

—Hindu activist Santosh was killed by Wasim, a drug peddler and son of a SDPI member. The CM feasted at a Muslim leader's house in the same locality, but failed to visit deceased Santosh's house. Home minister defended Wasim saying he only stabbed him with a screwdriver and did not intend to kill Santosh.

—The murder cases of Gauri Lankesh and M.M. Kalburgi remain unresolved.

—The CM covering up the murders by his cronies K.J. George and Vinay Kulkarni worsened the law and order in the city. The city was ranked second in murders in 2016 (as per NCRB).

—General secretary of district youth Congress Mohammad Nalapad Haris, son of Shantinagar MLA N.A. Haris brutally assaulted a wheelchair-bound youth named Vidvat, leaving him with skull, nasal and rib cage fractures. Ex-block Congress president from K.R. Puram Narayanaswamy threw petrol in BBMP revenue office to threaten revenue officer who refused to sign a fake document. Yeshwantpur MLA S.T. Somashekhar' men attacked a landowner for refusing to give his land for a Congress convention.

—In contravention of HC order, Siddaramaiah denotified 541 acres acquired for Arkavathy layout, which caused a loss of Rs 700 crore to the exchequer.

—Muslim leaders of the Congress party misappropriated Rs 2 lakh crore worth Wakf land, but the government rejected the report on the scam.

—The Congress chose white topping of roads at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore instead of asphalting that would have cost only Rs 100 crore. White topping, which was avoidable, has now worsened the traffic situation too.

—Congress spent Rs 468 crore to develop a small stretch of 12km between Kempegowda layout and Mysore road.

—In 2017, the city got flooded and caused loss of property worth Rs 1,600 crore, even as minister K.J. George was claiming that Bengaluru was better than New York.

—Parking mafia has taken over the government-owned Jayanagar shopping complex and are charging exorbitant parking fee.

—The state capital suffers regular power outages due to lack of power infrastructure, even as energy minister D.K. Shivakumar is busy amassing wealth.

—According to the Revised Master Plan 2031, Bengalureans spend 60 crore hours in traffic every year, which is causing a loss of Rs 3,700 crore annually.

—Out of the 5,680 tonnes of garbage generated in the city, only 5,100-5,400 tonnes are picked up, leaving 280-580 tonnes of garbage to rot on the roads. As many as 100 illegal and environmentally dangerous dumping sites for unsegregated waste have been created by this government along with garbage mafia.

—Half of the city's untreated human waste is being flushed into lakes. Out of 25 lakh private properties, only 12 lakh households have sewage connections.