BENGALURU: Former chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy attacked on the ruling Congress government, especially his bete noire DK Shivakumar, and warned the DyCM that the latter’s ‘conspiracy’ to transform the city’s neighbourhood into a dumping yard for the garbage generated in Bengaluru will never be allowed.
Issuing a statement, the JD(S) leader expressed strong opposition to the dumping of garbage at yards to be set up in districts in the neighbourhood of Bengaluru, like Ramanagar and other districts. “We strongly oppose building the ‘Brand Bengaluru’ on the graves of people from neighboring districts. If the government does not abandon this decision, people will take to the streets,” he warned.
He made a serious allegation that the perpetrators involved in raising the ‘percentage’ of commission have conspired to grab in these districts in the name of ‘Brand Bengaluru’ to set up dumping yards. He expressed concern for the people living in these districts, as about 1,630 tons of garbage from the city will be dumped on a daily base. The people of Mandur, Yeshwantpur and Doddaballapur are already facing problems due to garbage dumping yards and now the government is trying to set up the ‘death mounds’ in Ramanagara.
Kumaraswamy complained that this was a gross injustice and an evil strategy to harm the already bad environment. The neighbouring districts have been home to farmers engaged in dairy farming, horticulture and vegetable crops, he said. Kumaraswamy is a legislator representing the Channapatna constituency and his wife held the Ramanagar, between 2013-2018, but Nikhil Kumaraswamy lost the seat in the assembly polls.
DKS over reacting
On the IT raid on the contractors, Kumaraswamy reiterated that DK Shivakumar is ‘overreacting’ to the former’s statements on the issue out of frustration. He said, “DK Shivakumar’s statement that ‘Kumaraswamy is not even a representative of the Income Tax Department’ is nothing more than his frustration.” Did I mention that the money seized in the contractor’s house belonged to him? I have a suspicion that he is afraid of going to Tihar Jail,” he alleged. Kumaraswamy said that he merely wants to know the truth about whose money it was, from CM Siddaramaiah and DyCM DK Shivakumar, as “they came to power fighting on the issue of 40 per cent commission during the BJP government.”