BENGALURU: After heavy rain caused flooding in Bengaluru, particularly in the IT corridors, a political clash erupted between the ruling Congress and opposition parties.
Rain disrupted traffic and inundated areas like Manyata Tech Park and Whitefield, prompting sharp accusations from opposition party leaders over poor infrastructure in the state capital.
Janata Dal Secular pointed out that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda had laid the foundation for Bengaluru’s IT boom with great foresight, but successive Congress governments had squandered the vision into a real estate debacle and exploitation of land.
In response, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar lashed out at the opposition parties for shaming Bengaluru for rain fury. “It is impossible to control nature. The government is doing its best to manage the rain havoc. Opposition parties must stop tarnishing the image of Bengaluru. Since there are chances of more rain, the public should plan accordingly,” he said. As a precautionary measure, a holiday has been declared and a meeting with BBMP, police and fire department officials will be held, he added.
On tweets from opposition leaders on Bengaluru rain, he said “we cannot tell nature to stop the rain, which is caused by cyclones”. “The government and people of Bengaluru are capable of handling it,” he added. Home Minister G Parameshwara echoed this sentiment, questioning the opposition’s criticism by emphasising the unexpected nature of the rain in October, and said no one could influence the changing weather patterns.
Former CM and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai countered that merely promoting ‘Brand Bengaluru’ without allocating funds, will not resolve the issues. He pointed out that during his tenure as CM, Rs 800 crore was allocated for storm water drain works, for which work had started. He stressed that these works should be cleared before monsoon.
The political back-and-forth intensified when JDS shared an old video on the official handle of Mohammed Haris Nalapad, state president of Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress, wading through the floodwaters, accusing the ruling party of hypocrisy for downplaying previous criticism when in the opposition.