BBMP poll: Even Smart City snub a poll issue for BJP!

Bengaluru: The ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP are involved in a blame game over Bengaluru not qualifying for the Smart City project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To secure victory in the BBMP elections, both parties are sure to make this an issue in the elections.

After the ruling Congress accused Union ministers, representing Karnataka of not getting Bengaluru under the Smart City project the BJP on Friday stepped up its campaign charging that the Congress government had not done its homework to include Bengaluru under the project.

Addressing mediapersons here on Friday, Union Chemicals and Fertilizers minister Ananth Kumar said the evaluation committee of the state government excluded Bengaluru and Mysuru from the Smart City project. Both Ananth Kumar and D.V. Sadananda Gowda asserted that the Centre had no role to play in getting Smart City status for Bengaluru. The leaders were also not ready to admit the fact that stringent guidelines of the Union Urban Development ministry stopped Bengaluru from being included under the project.

After Bengaluru City Corporation failed to collect taxes, the Centre had dropped Bengaluru and also Mysuru from the project. Interestingly, BBMP was governed by BJP in the last five years. However, the Union ministers were not ready to accept this hard fact when asked about BJP’s failure to ensure good civic governance in the last few years.

Mr. Ananth Kumar also blamed CM Siddaramaiah for the slow phase of Namma metro project. “The PM had agreed to release Rs 2600 crore to 110 villages in Bengaluru for the drinking water project. But the state failed to get the funds from the Centre”, Mr Ananth Kumar said.