Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 20 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said he accepts Union Minister and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy’s challenge for a debate on Bidadi township.
The JDS has opposed the Bidadi township project, alleging “land mafia.”
Addressing a press conference after meeting the farmers from Bidadi, Shivakumar said, “I heard that Kumaraswamy has issued a debate challenge regarding the Bidadi Township. I accept his challenge. Three days’ notice is enough for me. I will be ready whenever the time is fixed. Let him decide the place and time.”
According to an official release, the farmers who attended the meeting demanded that they be given plots in addition to compensation. After listening to their grievances and demands, the Deputy CM assured them he would do whatever is legally possible to help them.
“Today I had discussions with the farmers from Bidadi. I will take steps to release the compensation amount from the first week of June for farmers who have given their land for the Bidadi township. We have decided to issue separate final-stage notifications by grouping three villages at a time. About 80 per cent of the farmers in the Bidadi Township area have given their consent and are pressing for compensation to be distributed as soon as possible. Concern has been shown for the landless, and this matter will be resolved,” he said.
Hitting out at Kumaraswamy, Shivakumar added, “This project was not started by me. The notification was issued during Kumaraswamy’s tenure. It was also decided during his tenure that 8,000 square feet would be given. During the tenure of Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai, KIADB had taken 1,000 acres. Nobody spoke up then. When farmers questioned Kumaraswamy about it at the time, he reportedly said, ‘I got this done, and now there’s nothing I can do.”
Defending the project, the Deputy CM said that the court has also refused to stop the project. He added that the state government has paid higher compensation for the land acquired for the township.
He said, “This area had been declared a red zone, prohibiting any sale of land. Some people had even filed petitions in court asking for the project to be dropped. But the court also refused to stop the project. For this reason, I am taking the farmers into confidence and continuing with the project. I have given slightly higher compensation. They are also happy that they are now identified as Bangaloreans, as they have been included in that district. I have convinced all the farmers not to sell their land, telling them that none of you understands its true value yet. Everyone has agreed to this.”
“When I told the farmers about the debate challenge, they said, ‘Brother, you don’t need to go – we’ll accept the challenge ourselves and give them the answer.’ The price of iron and steel has risen by Rs 5,000 per tonne. Kumaranna is the minister in charge of this. The farmers advised me to ask him to bring down the steel prices, and then let Kumaraswamy come for the debate. Once petrol and diesel prices rise, the price of iron will also go up. The farmers asked me to question Kumaraswamy about this first,” he added.
When asked about Deve Gowda’s letters to senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Shivakumar said, “Deve Gowda should write to Modi and his other leaders. What is the point of writing to our leaders? Rahul Gandhi is not in power. Why should he interfere in all this? Why couldn’t Deve Gowda do anything?”
Earlier, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) National President HD Deve Gowda launched a scathing attack on the ruling Congress government in Karnataka over the Bidadi township issue, alleging that a powerful “land mafia” is actively operating in the state under political patronage.
The veteran leader revealed that he has written to Congress top brass Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, highlighting the active presence of the land mafia in Karnataka. (ANI)
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