BENGALURU/MANDYA : Questioning Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s claim that the proposed Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project in Bidadi has the backing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday accused the state government of using the PM’s name to push the project that is facing strong opposition from farmers.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy contended that similar township and industrial projects supported by Modi were implemented in earthquake-hit regions as part of rehabilitation efforts, whereas Bidadi is a fertile agricultural belt with plantations and dairy farming activities. He also questioned whether Shivakumar had fully apprised the PM of the ground realities before seeking support for the project.
“The PM and CM met one-to-one and no one knows what they spoke. The chief minister should not misuse the name of the prime minister to sacrifice the interests of the farmers of the state. He has the power. He is an arrogant person who can do anything,” he said.
Later in Mandya, Kumaraswamy branded Shivakumar as a “real estate tycoon”. He asked Shivakumar to reveal to people how he became “filthy rich”, alleging that the Congress leader’s properties grew from a mere 3 acre in 1999 to something worth Rs 1,400 crore by 2018. “He should tell the people of the entire state about this. How can one acquire such a large amount of property? How can one become rich so quickly?” he said.
Meanwhile, he said, “Rahul Gandhi, who recently went to Andaman and made a video, said the environment here is good, save the green. Green is our grid. So I will write a letter to Rahul Gandhi on behalf of Kannadigas to save the Bidadi environment.”
“You have your own government in Karnataka, your own CM. Please get information about Karnataka. Why are those who want to protect the environment in Andaman destroying the environment of Karnataka? Your CM says don’t give land to farmers in Kanakapura. Farmers’ land is being snatched in Bidadi, why this stepmotherly attitude?” he said.
Kumaraswamy said there is full support for a legal fight against the project. “On June 21, we will organise a padayatra in villages under the project area. We have decided to hold a padayatra in 26 villages. We are also ready to lay siege to the Vidhana Soudha later,” he said.
Nikhil seeks Rahul’s intervention
JDS youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy on Sunday sought the intervention of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in stopping the Bidadi Township project. In response to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s remark, Nikhil posted a two-page letter addressed to Rahul on X, highlighting “grave humanitarian crisis” unfolding in Karnataka with the Congress government abruptly issuing the final land acquisition notification for the project on June 12.
“This aggressive move, executed by your chief minister, completely bypasses public consent and wages a direct war on the most vulnerable ‘Sons of the Soil’ who feed our nation,” he wrote. “On national platforms, you frequently preach the principle of ‘Green over Greed’ to oppose corporate exploitation.
Yet, your government in Karnataka is doing the exact opposite. I urge you to hold your own government accountable, stand with the weak and direct the chief minister to withdraw the final notification and halt this project immediately,” he urged.
BYV wants Rahul to come to rescue of farmers
BJP State President BY Vijayendra wrote to LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, seeking his intervention to stall the Bidadi township project. The Congress government in the state has chosen not to hear the anguish of its own farmers, he said, claiming he has spoken to thousands of deprived farming families in Bidadi who are losing fertile land.
“You travel the country, raising the banner of land rights for farmers. You speak of protecting India’s soil from the grip of corporate interests, and you have led yatras built around precisely this cause.
Yet here in Karnataka, the Congress chief minister continues unmoved, even as some of our state’s poorest farmers are pushed to the brink of losing everything they own. I believe this contradiction deserves your attention, and I write today to seek your position on what can only be described as a “state-engineered land grab” carried out in the name of the Bidadi Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT) project,” he said in a post on X. “I urge you to direct your chief minister to halt this acquisition until the farmers of Bidadi have been genuinely heard...,” he said. ENS