Bengaluru: Are the demolitions conducted on lakebeds in city in order? The state BJP has serious doubts about this and has demanded a judiciary inquiry into the ‘illegal’ demolition drive of the Bengaluru Urban district administration at Sarakki and Puttanehalli lake.
Addressing media persons here on Monday, BJP spokesperson Suresh Kumar said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra had lied about the demolition drive in Bengaluru.
Actually, the Bengaluru Urban administration demolished 150 houses, but government has claimed that only 3 houses were demolished. After releasing the list of families affected by the demolition, Mr. Suresh Kumar said only a judicial probe can unearth the truth and suggested one by a retired judge. The government should take up the responsibility of rebuilding the houses, he demanded.
According to survey reports released by the revenue department in 2015, 2 acres and 31 guntas of lake beds have been encroached out of 80 acres of Jarganahalli, Sarakki and Puttenahalli lakes. But none of the houses demolished are part of the encroached stretch, Mr. Suresh Kumar pointed out while showing the survey report.
The forest department had surveyed Sarakki lake in 2001 and demarcated the lake boundaries. The department even fenced the lake after making 60 percent of roads around it. There are no encroachments beyond the boundary, however houses have been demolished, Suresh Kumar explained.
The district administration demolished the houses, without considering the survey reports, he said adding the BJP was planning to to file a contempt petition against the government.
Beware, BSY’s planning a state comeback!
Former CM and Lok Sabha member from Shivamogga, Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa said his goal was to bring back BJP to power in the State by taking up people's issues. Participating in meet-the-press programme here, the senior BJP leader stated that having worked as Lok Sabha member for one year he would always like to come to state politics and install a BJP government in Karnataka.
"I have full confidence that the people of Karnataka will vote for the saffron party in 2018 elections since they are fed up with the Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah". Asked whether he was ready to take a lead in the coming Assembly polls, Mr Yeddyurappa said it was too premature and such important decisions would be taken by the high command.
On BJP's failure to take up the Arkavathy denotification scam and the mysterious death of IAS officer D K Ravi, the former CM said there were opportunities for his party to take both these issues to a logical end. Although, the party could not achieve much on the Arkavathy issue, the BJP certainly did well when it came to handing over Mr Ravi's death to the CBI for a probe. "We will join hands with JD(S) in both houses of the Legislature on important issues. But we will treat JD(S) as an opponent during elections".
On Mr Siddaramaiah's statement on making Karnataka BJP-mukt, Mr Yeddyurappa said he had never seen a CM use an event to celebrate two years in office to make such a statement. Many states had been made 'Congress mukt' by people because of which the grand old party of India had been unable to secure the opposition party status in Lok Sabha. "The Davangere convention should not have been used to attack the NDA government at the Centre", he said.
