Bengaluru: Congress leader and former corporator S Udaykumar has charged that the BJP’s Bengaluru legislators are intentionally delaying the elections to the BBMP because they know that they can’t swindle public money if corporators are there.
He said if the BJP government believes in democracy and decentralisation of administration to help elected representatives be responsive to the people’s problems, then it should immediately hold the much-delayed elections to the BBMP.
The Congress leader told the media in Mahadevapura on Wednesday that the BBMP is orphaned due to the absence of an elected body for two years. There are no elected representatives to hear the grievances of the citizens. Though the Supreme Court has issued a deadline of eight weeks to conduct the polls, the government is still dilly-dallying to take the necessary steps.
No doubt there are MLAs in the city. But they are limiting themselves to conducting poojas. They are not available to the public. The BJP MLAs know that they can’t get a ‘commission’ and hence they are shunning the BBMP polls, he charged.
Udaykumar said that Bengalureans are facing a plethora of problems. It is time to redress their grievances. It is impossible to do this without the local corporators. Bengaluru is a vast city that needs corporators. If there should be no disconnect between the citizens and officials, then corporators have to be there. He insisted that the government must expedite the process of holding the polls.
To a question regarding the possible CM candidature of the Congress in the next elections, Udaykumar hit back, saying that the media is creating problems by raising the same question daily. The media is treading the RSS way. This is highly condemnable. He said the Congress, as announced by the high command, will face the elections under collective leadership.
T Nagesh, vice president, KPCC SC/ST cell, who was also present, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a liar. The people twice gave him the mandate to govern the country. So far, no promise he has made has been fulfilled. The BJP is dividing society on a caste and religious basis. It is attempting to destroy the Constitution by adopting the Manusmriti, he claimed.
Announcement of candidates in advance
Lakshimprasad, the KPCC spokesman, Mahadevapura, said the Congress would announce its candidates for the BBMP elections six months in advance. The party has realised that the late finalisation of candidates would pose more challenges for the party to win. Therefore, six months in advance, the selection of candidates would be announced, he said.
He also said that the Congress is contemplating fielding local candidates in all the 36 reserved assembly constituencies, including Mahadevapura. This is being considered by the AICC and KPCC, he pointed out.
