From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, July 27: In a sharp attack on Union Steel and Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy for opposing the renaming of Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South district and warning that the decision will be reversed when his government comes to power, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said the JD(S) leader’s “single-point agenda is our destruction.”
“Mark my words, he (Kumaraswamy) will not succeed. It is not in his fate to do so. The Congress party will return to power again in 2028. He will not be able to form the government to reverse the Congress government’s decision,” he declared while speaking to media persons after a meeting for the comprehensive development of Bengaluru in Vidhana Soudha on Saturday.
Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister, referred to Kumaraswamy’s warning that “those who want are changing Ramanagara’s name will be destroyed,” and said he has been “trying to destroy us every day.”
“We know all his moves, steps, thinking and style of functioning. We are not changing Ramanagara’s name but merely changing the name of the district. This is our district. He came here illegally and has changed the identity of the district because he can do it politically. But the people of Ramanagara, Channapatna, Kanakapura and Magadi taluks are our people. We are all Bengalureans,” he asserted.
The deputy chief minister said: “I hail from this district and belong to this district. I had started my political career here. I was first elected as member of the Bengaluru Zilla Panchayat. Kumaraswamy and his father H D Deve Gowda are from Hassan district and they came here. When they came, this was Bengaluru,” he said making it clear that “just as we proudly affirm that we are Indians, we are proud to call ourselves as Bengalurians.”
“When Kumaraswamy came to power, he split the district and gave a different name which we don’t accept because we are Bengalurians,” he declared.
Shivakumar went on to say that former Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah, who is from this district, built the magnificient Vidhana Soudha. Ramakrishna Hegde contested from his. This district has produced four-five chief ministers, he said and pointed out that when a separate district was being carved out, “we had demanded that the name of Bengaluru should be retained because it is a world-famous brand name.”
“Why should we be deprived and lose a name given by our ancestors?” he asked.
The deputy chief minister made it clear that the district headquarters will be in Ramanagara. “All we want is a new direction, new thinking and development. The decision to rename Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South district has been taken taking into consideration the future of the next generation. All the people have unanimously accepted and are happy at the name change,” he said.
Greater Bengaluru Authority for City’s Development
Shivakumar said Kumaraswamy’s statement that he will come to power by 2028 and reverse the name change and retain the name of Ramanagara is impossible and declared: “It is impossible for him to come to power in 2028. Even in the next election, Congress party will return to power. You can write this down.’’
He strongly defended the government’s decision to upgrade the world-famous Brindavan Gardens and give it a new shape. The State Cabinet has decided to revamp the Brindavan Gardems.
Answering opposition charge that it will be waste of funds, he termed it a bogus claim. “This is an old proposal under Siddaramaiah regime. When Kumaraswamy was the chief minister and I was the irrigation minister, the project was announced in the State budget. We want to develop the Brindavan Gardens to international standards in the public-private partnership model. The Cauvery Aarati programme that is popular in Varanasi as Ganga Aarati will be launched here. This is part of the Tourism Development.”
The deputy chief Minister said the government will accept the suggestions from all sides with regard to Greater Bengaluru Authority legislation. After the meeting of all Bengaluru-based legislators, the government will consult opposition leaders too.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority is aimed at comprehensive development and good governance, he said and assured the opposition members that all should cooperate and work keeping aside politics for the development of the city.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, Minister Z A Zameer Ahmed, BJP leaders Dr Ashwath Narayan and Gopalaiah, N A Harris, Krishnappa, Vishwanath, Ravi Subramanya, Muniraju, Munirathna, Ramamurthy, Manjula Aravind Limbavali, M C Srinivas, Satish Reddy, Shivanna, Byrathi Basvaraj, Puttanna, Saravana, Sudhamadas and others participated in the meeting.