BENGALURU: Bengaluru Urban District in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy has opposed the proposal to designate a minister for the city’s development.
“It is better that the affairs of Bengaluru remain with the Chief Minister himself,” Reddy, who is also Transport Minister, told reporters here on Thursday.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, should look after matters relating to the development of the state capital, he said. Reddy, however, clarified, “this is my personal opinion.”
During an interaction with editors of various publications just ahead of the BBMP polls, the CM had announced that he would appoint a minister to look after Bengaluru’s development.
Referring to the party’s failure to wrest the BBMP from BJP, he said, “We have managed to reduce the vote share of the BJP drastically and fell just short of majority.”
Congress candidates in at least 25 wards were defeated by a difference of just 500 votes. “Had we made some more effort, the results would have been different,” he said.
Dismissing the BJP leaders’ statement that the countdown for the fall of the Congress government has started with the BBMP results, he said, “The elections were not fought on the state government’s achievements.”