Daijiworld Media Network- Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Aug 10: Political fireworks erupted on Sunday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the much-awaited Yellow Line of Namma Metro, connecting RV Road to Electronic City. While the BJP hailed the Centre’s role, Karnataka’s top Congress leaders — Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, and Minister Priyank Kharge — accused the Union Government of contributing far less than promised and “hijacking” credit for the project.

Deputy CM Shivakumar minced no words, stating that “80 to 90 per cent of the project cost was borne by the state,” with the Centre contributing just 20 per cent — and in some sections, as little as 11 per cent. “The Centre has fully neglected Karnataka, but out of respect for the Prime Minister, we invited him to inaugurate the Yellow Line,” he said, adding that land acquisition and major infrastructure costs were funded by the state.

“The Centre was supposed to bear 50 per cent of the cost, but failed to do so,” Shivakumar claimed, pointing out that in Ahmedabad, the Centre contributed 20 per cent for infrastructure projects, while in Bengaluru the share was barely half that. He also lashed out at Karnataka’s BJP MPs for “not contributing a single rupee” towards the Metro.

Backing the Deputy CM’s stand, Minister Priyank Kharge alleged that BJP’s commitment to the metro “dwindled” after coming to power, forcing the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) to take loans. “The Karnataka Government has contributed over Rs 12,000 crore, while the Centre gave just Rs 8,000 crore,” Kharge said, calling the Yellow Line a “glaring example” of Karnataka’s growing contributions to the Centre with diminishing returns.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, sharing the dais with PM Modi at the Yellow Line launch and the foundation-laying ceremony of Phase-3, noted that metro projects are meant to be jointly funded but “the state has been spending more.” Of the Rs 25,387 crore spent so far, the state’s share was significantly higher than the Centre’s Rs 7,468.86 crore, he said. While acknowledging the Centre’s “technical and financial assistance,” he emphasised that much of it comes as loans and equity, repayable with interest.

The CM highlighted that Bengaluru’s metro network — now at 96.10 km — is expected to expand to 220 km by 2030, serving 30 lac passengers daily. The 19.15 km Yellow Line, costing Rs 7,160 crore, is expected to carry 7.5 lac passengers every day, easing the city’s notorious traffic congestion.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya hit back, crediting PM Modi for pushing public infrastructure in the city, and claiming that between the Yellow Line and the upcoming Orange Line, 18 lac commuters will benefit. “Congress tries to take credit for everything — even the IPL victory,” Surya quipped.

Karnataka’s railway budget up 9 times since 2014: Vaishnaw

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said Karnataka’s railway budget has risen from Rs 835 crore before 2014 to Rs 7,500 crore under prime minister Narendra Modi, with ongoing projects worth Rs 54,000 crore.

Speaking at the inauguration of Bengaluru Metro’s Yellow Line, Vaishnaw noted that 61 stations across the state are being redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat station scheme, which aims to modernise infrastructure in a phased, need-based manner.

He also highlighted India’s rapid growth in electronics manufacturing, with production rising sixfold to Rs 12 lac crore and exports increasing eightfold to Rs 3 lac crore. Bengaluru’s Devanahalli is emerging as a key iPhone manufacturing hub, he added.

Under the India AI Mission, 34,000 GPUs are now available to innovators at less than $1 per hour, making it the world’s most affordable AI compute facility. He praised Bengaluru-based startup Sarvam for building a multilingual Large Language Model trained on Indian data.

Vaishnaw announced that six semiconductor plants are under construction, paving the way for India’s first Made-in-India chip. These developments, he said, align with PM Modi’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

As the political war of words intensified, the launch of the Yellow Line also marked a major milestone for Bengaluru’s transport network, bringing relief to lacs of commuters — even as the debate over who deserves credit shows no signs of slowing down.