BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar asked Congress workers to defend the state government, which is facing serious criticism over flooding in several parts of Bengaluru.
“You, the party workers, must give an appropriate response to them (the Opposition). They are spoiling the name of Bengaluru,” the DCM, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, told the party workers, after paying tributes to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary.
“What had happened in Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi? So, it happens when it rains heavily,” the DCM said. Several areas in the state capital were flooded after heavy rain over the last few days. The Opposition BJP and JDS slammed the state government for its failure to address the problem.
Hitting out at the Opposition, the DCM asked who was responsible for encroachments and what they were doing during their tenure. Shivakumar said there are directions from the courts and stay orders in some cases, but despite that he had directed the officials to clear the encroachments.
The DCM said they are working to give a new shape to the state capital, and the party workers must defend the government. They have to accept the criticisms happily, as there will always be criticism for good work, he said.
On the terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, Shivakumar said there will be a major discussion in the days to come, and they all need to study it. Shivakumar said he is also studying what happened, how it all happened, how far it is from the border, and whether it is true or false.
The deputy chief minister, however, did not elaborate on what is true or false.
Congress MLC BK Hariprasad said the terror attack in Pahalgam showed total failure of intelligence agencies. He accused External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar of informing Pakistan, before India struck the terror camps in Pakistan.
He said the Union Government must clarify how many terrorists were killed in the Indian strikes.