Bengaluru, July 20 (IANS) Karnataka Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka claimed on Sunday that Congress leaders are fighting on the streets, asserting that the convention held under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was not a government programme but an event organised to sideline Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Ashoka said the convention conducted by Siddaramaiah exposed the internal rift within Congress. No one spoke in favour of Shivakumar at the event. The meeting was held to teach Shivakumar a lesson and to humiliate him.

Shivakumar has now been reduced to a second-rung leader. It was not a government programme; it was a ritual to finish off Shivakumar, Ashoka claimed.

This is an internal feud between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. The BJP does not need to topple this government; it will collapse due to Congress’s internal conflicts. Karnataka In-Charge Randeep Singh Surjewala came to the state and listened to the grievances of MLAs. Their disputes are now out in the open, he added.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke disparagingly about Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Mysuru meeting. Calling the PM a “barker” reflects the mindset of Congress leaders. Now, knowing they won’t come to power, they are resorting to such low-level remarks, he said.

Ashoka said that Bengaluru has been ruined instead of being developed. Issues like traffic jams, flooding, and garbage problems will not be resolved by these measures.

“Dividing the Bengaluru built by Nadaprabhu Kempegowda will not lead to progress. Development is being claimed merely with the ‘Brand Bengaluru’ slogan,” he said.

Dividing the city will create disparities in revenue sharing, leading to more conflicts. There are no waste processing units in central Bengaluru. If garbage is sent to the outskirts, locals there might refuse to accept it, which will lead to further disputes, he said.

A proposal for a tunnel road has been submitted to the central government. The state government lacks funds to repair pothole-ridden roads. Bengaluru has hard rocks, making it impossible to build tunnel roads here. We will meet the Union Highway Minister to clarify the tunnel road issue. Instead, focusing on the metro project would suffice. Expanding the metro project further would help resolve traffic congestion, said Ashoka.

“The Congress MLAs themselves have called Siddaramaiah a ‘lottery CM’. He is neither a people’s leader nor an elected CM. Henceforth, Siddaramaiah should call himself a ‘lottery Chief Minister’,” he said.

–IANS

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