From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Sep 22: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s move to shift the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) from Dharwad to Raichur as a politically motivated decision with an eye on the ensuing by-election to the Deodurg assembly constituency in Raichur district.

BJP spokesman C T Ravi, MLA, made this allegation at a news conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Ravi claimed that the move to locate the IIT at Raichur instead of the originally selected Dharwad was not out of any special love for Raichur district.

The BJP leader urged the Narendra Modi regime to reconsider its decision on the location of the IIT in Karnataka and stick to the originally sanctioned location at Dharwad.

Ravi alleged that Siddaramaiah has written a letter to the Centre requesting it to set up the IIT in Raichur, one of the backward districts of Karnataka, to woo voters during the ensuing by-election to the Deodurg constituency.

The by-poll in Deodurg was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA A Venkatesh Naik (79) in a rail accident last month.

Instead of three locations, the State should have recommended one location to the Centre, Ravi said.

Now, to ensure victory in elections, the State Government has indulged in “political gimmicks” and misleading the people, Ravi said.

The State had recommended to the Centre three locations for establishment of the IIT – Mysuru, Dharwad and Raichur.

Earlier, Congress Municipal Administration Minister Qamarul Islam urged the Chief Minister to put pressure on the Centre to shift the location of the IIT from Dharwad to Raichur.