On June 27th, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar claimed that CM Siddaramaiah was scared of protesters in 2017 regarding the Hebbal steel flyover issue. He further stated that if it had been up to him, he wouldn’t have succumbed to the demands of the protesters.
Addressing the gathering, he said, “In 2017, CM Siddaramaiah and KJ George (the then Bengaluru City Development minister) were scared about protests against a steel flyover in the city. If it was me, I wouldn’t have succumbed to the sound made by protesters and gone ahead with the project, no matter what the consequence is.”
The KPCC President Shivakumar further stated that he will also take some tough decisions in this term that will benefit Bengaluru in the long run. He made these stinging remarks on CM Siddaramaiah while speaking at the Kempegowda Jayanti event in Vidhana Soudha.
The deputy CM, who also holds the Bengaluru City Development portfolio, was referring to the Basaveshwara Nagar to Hebbal steel flyover project. After facing massive backlash, the Siddaramaiah government scrapped the project altogether.
In 2017, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was at the helm of affairs in the state. The government had announced its plan to construct a 6.7 kilometres steel flyover. As per the proposed plan, the government wanted to decongest the Hebbal area, especially for individuals travelling from central Bengaluru to Kempegowda International Airport.
However, the announcement of the steel flyover in the region faced massive backlash from residents and welfare groups.
The protesters raised concerns that the project would lead to a reduction in the green cover in the garden city, as the proposed project might result in cutting down trees in the area. Subsequently, the Siddaramaiah government announced the decision to scrap the project citing environmental concerns.
There is no love lost between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar
During the recently concluded state assembly elections, the feud between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar for the top post in the state was out in the open for full public glare. Not only did supporters of both leaders engage in mudslinging against their rival within the party, but both leaders left no stone unturned in their greed for the Chief Ministerial post.
The KPCC Chief did everything to undermine Siddaramaiah’s bid. Shivakumar hailed
himself as the architect of Congress’ victory in Karnataka and claimed “Under my leadership, Congress got 135 seats.”
In fact, speculations were rife during that turbulent phase that DK Shivakumar may opt-out from the party either to float his own political outfit or join its long-term rival, the Bhartiya Janta Party.
The feud left Congress sweating profusely only to be resolved with backroom deals which seem to have only brokered a truce for the time being and the latest jibe by DK Shivakumar against his own party leader seems to be the first indication of a long ensuing political-ego battle to come.
