Bengaluru, May 13 (IANS) Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, who is also in charge of Bengaluru Development, on Wednesday said that elections to the civic bodies under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) would be conducted in accordance with court directions.​

Responding to questions from reporters near the GBA office, Shivakumar said, “The elections to the corporations under the GBA jurisdiction will be held as per the directions of the court.”​

When asked about the expected revenue under the GBA this year, he said, “Let the revenue come first, then we will see. We are not calculating revenue now. Our priority is to protect people who are struggling due to rising prices. During difficult times, when people are being advised not to buy gold, to reduce fuel consumption, and to avoid foreign travel, the focus should be on public welfare.”​

Calling the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) question paper leak a “major embarrassment” to the country, Shivakumar said Union ministers and Members of Parliament should answer for the issue.​

“The cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test examination due to the question paper leak is a huge embarrassment for the country. Union ministers and Members of Parliament should respond to this issue. If such an incident had happened in our state, by now they would have launched severe attacks against us,” he said.​

He added that students and parents who had worked hard and built dreams around the examination were deeply upset by the development.​

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, on Tuesday, alleged that there was an internal conflict between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar over the conduct of the Greater Bengaluru Authority elections.​

He made the statement while speaking to the media in Bengaluru.​

Commenting on reports that the state government was attempting to postpone the Greater Bengaluru Authority elections, Kumaraswamy claimed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had convened a meeting of election officials in the absence of Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar and pushed for conducting the polls.​

“Later, the Deputy Chief Minister (D.K. Shivakumar) convened another meeting and allegedly pressured the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) not to conduct the elections under any circumstances. Now the state government has approached the Supreme Court seeking postponement,” he alleged.​

Kumaraswamy also accused the state government of citing the census exercise as a reason to delay the elections until September.​

He claimed the Chief Minister wanted the elections to be held to strengthen his political position for the next six months, while Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar feared that conducting the polls could weaken his own prospects of securing the Chief Minister’s post.​

It can be recalled that the Karnataka State Election Commission on Monday approached the Supreme Court seeking a 90-day extension to conduct the long-delayed Bengaluru civic polls.​

The move comes just days after State Election Commissioner G.S. Sangreshi had asserted that the elections for the five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority would be held between June 14 and June 24.​

–IANS

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