A debate, ‘Candidates Meet Citizens- Bangalore Central Constituency’ organised by Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) was held here on Sunday.
The four major candidates- Nandini Alva (JD(S)), P C Mohan (BJP), Rizwan Arshad (Congress) and V Balakrishnan (AAP) participated in the debate which was moderated by B.PAC secretary K Jairaj.
After Balakrishnan said that he would ensure that the people of his constituency would be proud of him for his conduct in the Parliament, P C Mohan and Rizwan Arshad entered into an argument.
Provoked by Rizwan’s dig at him for raising only five questions in Parliament Mohan said: “Parliamentary proceedings were stalled most of the time as scams involving leaders of the ruling party surfaced. Therefore, senior leaders spoke most of the time and junior leaders, like me, did not get enough time to raise issues.”Rizwan tried to defend his party and an argument ensued. B.PAC secretary K Jairaj wisely cut short the argument by asking a question to Nandini Alva.
The four candidates used the programme as a platform to explain their understanding of the problems faced by the city and the steps they would take to address those problems. The programme was attended by selected representatives from resident welfare organisations.
MP P C Mohan said that he would focus on improving the mass transport facilities to decongest city roads. He also promised that he would establish a coordination committee to improve different mass transport modes.
Promising a gas-based thermal plant at Bidadi, he said that garbage disposal would be made effective by setting up compost and electricity generating units. He said that he would promote small scale industries and establish more Kendriya Vidyala branches to make education affordable. Mohan said that he would raise issues related to the city in Parliament, besides working towards getting the necessary funds sanctioned for improving the city’s infrastructure. Rizwan said that he would strive to transform Bangalore into a world class city. He said that he would address all civic issues by coordinating with the MLAs and corporators. Promising a citizens’ platform, he said that such a platform was needed for citizens to help in formulating welfare plans. AAP’s Balakrishnan said that he would strive to ensure that all the welfare schemes are implemented properly.
He said that he would bring in police reforms and double the number of courts. He said that he would take steps to improve the city infrastructure. Balakrishnan said that he would coordinate with the NGOs and other agencies to understand the issues that are bothering the city.When asked about the AAP’s performance in Delhi, Balakrishnan said: “Politicians do not demit office even when they are supposed to do so for various things as they are attached to power. However, we renounced power when we were able to achieve the purpose of us coming to power.” Claiming that she is aware of most of the issues in the city, Nandini said she entered politics to cleanse the decadent system and improve governance.