BENGALURU: Magadi Congress MLA HC Balakrishna on Wednesday accused BJP and JDS leaders of opposing the proposed Bidadi township development project for political reasons.
Balakrishna said though the land acquisition process was ongoing when Siddaramaiah was the CM and some farmers were expressing opposition, Union minister HD Kumaraswamy and LoP in the Assembly R Ashoka did not oppose it at that time, and they are doing so now because they cannot digest DK Shivakumar becoming the CM. Terming it “opportunistic politics” by BJP and JDS leaders, the Congress MLA said the project was started by the Kumaraswamy government and not by Shivakumar.
The Congress MLA said 1,000 acres of land were acquired when the BJP was in power, and BS Yediyurappa was the CM. “At that time, we told the government that if they wanted to acquire, let them acquire all 10,000 acres. It was not correct to acquire 1,000 acres and declare the remaining 9,000 acres as a red zone.
After our meeting with Yediyurappa, BY Vijayendra informed us that an aeronautical industry will come up there and they were ready to acquire 5,000 to 6,000 acres of land. He sought our cooperation. Vijayendra should tell us whether he said that or not,” the Congress MLA said, showing photographs of his meeting with the BJP leader.
Asked if agricultural land is being acquired for the township project, he said most of the land in Bidadi is no longer agricultural land and has been developed through real estate. The Congress leader said there are farmers who want the project, and there are farmers who don’t.
“The majority of farmers have agreed to give land, and we will convince the farmers who don’t agree and implement the project,” he said, and added that farmers will be given compensation higher than market value.
The Congress leader said they have nothing to do with the issue of pasting posters in Bidadi, making allegations against the BJP and JDS leaders.