Bengaluru: The recent local body elections result in Kerala, where the ruling LDF faced a humiliating defeat against the Congress led UDF has spilled over to Karnataka, where the Kerala government has taken a dig at the Karnataka government clearing encroachment on government land by demolishing 200 illegal constructions, terming it as `buldozer justice against minorities'..
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has shot back saying that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had no proper information and said that the land was earmarked for dumping garbage and the government would not allow unauthorised slums to crop up in nook and corner of Bengaluru city.
Six days ago, the Greater Bengaluru Authority had taken up one of the biggest demolition drive at Kogilu layout, Yelahanka. The land was allotted to Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited for recycling the garbage. Recently, when the Tahashildar visited the place, he found a number of illegal constructions and realised that a person called Wasim had formed some sites and sold them in the name of Fakir colony and Wasim layout. The GBA authorities demolished over 200 houses built in the area and cleared the land, which resulted in a few protests.
Things took a surprise turn when a delegation led by Kerala Rajya Sabha member A A Rahim visited Kogilu layout and criticised the Karnataka government of `anti-minority' stand. Soon, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to his X handle and criticised the Karnataka Congress government for following `buldozer justice' against the minorities on the lines of North Karnataka Sangh Parivar politics.
Stating that the poor people were forced onto the streets in harsh winter conditions, Pinarayi Vijayan questioned how the Congress government could justify such mass and forceful evictions, when the government was supposed to protect the poor.
Reacting sharply to Pinarayi comments, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that it was unfortunate the senior leaders like Pinarayi making political statements at the time of elections, without verifying the facts.
``He should not be interfering with other State's issues, without knowing the facts. In the first place, Bengaluru is not like Mumbai, which has a lot of slums. We can not allow slums to erupt in all vacant lands. We can't allow land sharks to run amok in the city in the names of minorities or others,'' he said.
``The land was allotted for solid waste management purposes and there is a quarry pit adjacent to encroached land. A lot of garbage has been dumped there. This could be a potential health hazard area. Secondly, not all the people who went there are locals. Many people have come from elsewhere and have no proper documentation. We have offered them alternative houses under Rajiv Gandhi housing scheme and very few people are eligible for that. Let the others produce the required documents and we will allot houses to everyone,'' he said.
Shivakumar said that he had sought a report from the GBA officials and he would be sending the reports to AICC, Kerala Chief Minister and the Karnataka Chief Minister.
