Bengaluru, Oct 21 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced that his government will ensure the planned and systematic development of Bengaluru by investing Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

“We are investing Rs 1.2 lakh crore for the development of Bengaluru, which includes new outer ring roads, tunnel roads, flyovers, and double-decker roads. That’s why you must stand firmly with those who are actually working,” CM Siddaramaiah said after inaugurating the modernisation works of Chickpet in Gandhinagar Assembly constituency, represented by Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and performing the groundbreaking ceremony for the white-topping of roads in the area.

“Bengaluru is growing at a rapid pace. With the rising population, we are allocating significant funds for the modernisation and development of the city’s roads,” he added.

“We are funding 87 per cent of Bengaluru’s Metro project. That means 87 per cent of the money for Metro comes from the state’s people. Yet the BJP falsely claims that it’s a Central government project,” Siddaramaiah noted.

Attacking the BJP, he said: “After implementing GST for eight years, this Central government under (PM) Narendra Modi has looted the people of India. Now, after all this looting, they shamelessly put Modi’s photo and call it a ‘Diwali Gift’ to the people.”

“You voted for such fakes; now why are you regretting it?” Siddaramaiah questioned.

The CM revealed that the state has suffered a Rs 15,000 crore loss due to GST changes, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has advertised as a “Diwali Gift.”

“We are undertaking the development of Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 1.2 lakh crore, without receiving a single paisa from the Centre,” he said.

“When the BJP was in power, they didn’t build even a single new road or fill a single pothole. All the existing roads were developed during the Congress government’s tenure,” he emphasised.

From the stage itself, the CM instructed BBMP Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao to cover all potholes and lay one layer of tar on roads within a week.

CM Siddaramaiah alleged that BJP leaders like R. Ashoka and B.Y. Vijayendra have no voice of their own and “all they do is read what the RSS writes for them”.

“During an Assembly session, I once asked R. Ashoka about this, and he said, ‘What can we do, sir? An RSS person is always sitting nearby. If we don’t say what they tell us, they won’t spare us’,” Siddaramaiah claimed.

Targeting BJP leadership in the state, he said, “You keep chanting PM Modi’s name – but have you questioned the betrayal of Karnataka?”

“Has your BJP MP P.C. Mohan ever raised his voice in Parliament on your behalf?” the CM asked the public.

“I call MP Tejasvi Surya ‘Amavasya Surya’ (a sun that doesn’t shine). To this day, has he said a single word about the injustice and betrayal done to Karnataka by the PM Modi government? Have Union Ministers like Shobha Karandlaje or H.D. Kumaraswamy ever spoken against the betrayal Karnataka is facing from the Centre? What benefit have you, the state, or even their own parliamentary constituencies received from electing such people?” he asked.

Terming Dinesh Gundu Rao “a people-centric MLA who is committed solely to the development of his constituency”, Siddaramaiah said that he “has great potential and must be re-elected with a larger majority in the next election”.

He remarked that the markets here, which have existed since Kempegowda’s time, still retain their historical character. “At one point, we considered widening the roads here, but Dinesh Gundu Rao firmly opposed it, saying, ‘Sir, it would trouble the local people.’ Instead, he implemented a plan to modernise the roads and develop Chickpet without widening them,” he noted.

“Having an MLA like Dinesh Gundu Rao is your good fortune,” the CM said.

–IANS

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