Ex-PM Deve Gowda slams Siddaramaiah government over BMIC project

Bengaluru, Dec 24 (PTI) Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Karnataka government, saying he has been made a party in a writ petition filed in the Supreme Court over the BMIC/NICE project, forcing him to fight a legal battle even at an advanced age.

Addressing a press conference at the JD(S) state office, JP Bhavan, Gowda said the writ petition names the state government, some farmers and himself as respondents in connection with the long-pending project.

"A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court regarding the Bengaluru-Mysuru infrastructure project, and I have also been made a party to it," the 92-year-old leader said, expressing anguish over being dragged into litigation.

The Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC), also known as the NICE Road project, is a large-scale integrated infrastructure project in Karnataka, India, designed to connect Bengaluru and Mysuru via a high-speed expressway and thematic townships.

Allegations of acquiring "excess land" beyond project requirements have led to numerous legislative inquiries and public protests.

Over 20,000 acres were earmarked, causing long-term uncertainty for thousands of farming families who were unable to sell or develop their land for decades.

Critics have raised alarms over the impact on forests, lakes (like Gottigere Lake), and the regional water table.

The JD(S) patriarch recalled that when the agreement for the BMIC project was signed during his tenure as CM, Siddaramaiah, who is chief minister now, was the finance minister then.

"When I was the chief minister of this state, Siddaramaiah was the finance minister. The finance department had given its consent to the BMIC project, and an MoU was signed. He has all the details of that agreement as well," he said.

Explaining the scope of the project, Gowda said it covered four districts, including Bengaluru, Mandya and Mysuru, and involved the construction of concrete roads and five townships.

Lashing out at the state government, he said, "Even at this age, I have to pay lawyers and fight in court. I am told Rs 55 lakh is being paid to legal advisors in the NICE company case. Despite having an Advocate General and legal advisors, another counsel has been appointed specifically for the NICE issue," he said, criticising the state government's approach.

The former Prime Minister asserted that he still had the strength to fight.

"I still have the spirit to struggle and the strength to fight," he said, while alleging large-scale dependence on outsourced employees.

He claimed that over one lakh workers were employed on contract and that thousands of sanctioned posts remained vacant, citing Victoria Hospital as an example.

Taking a dig at the present administration, Gowda said the CM showed "excessive sympathy" towards the poor while allowing seven to eight people with cabinet rank to function from the Chief Minister's Office, calling it reflective of the government's style of functioning.

Gowda also said that constantly blaming the Centre would yield no results.

Recalling past experience, he said that when Siddaramaiah was the finance minister in the state and Manmohan Singh held the same portfolio at the Centre, a request to waive penal interest on farmers' loans was rejected by the Centre, NABARD and then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.

"If the state government spends all its time accusing the Centre, what is the use? A CM should attend DISHA meetings chaired by the Prime Minister and fight for the state's needs," he said, adding that MPs would not shirk their responsibilities.

Announcing his party programmes, Gowda said the JD(S) would hold conventions in Hassan and Bagalkote between January 23 and 25, ahead of the Parliament's joint session beginning on January 30.

He said Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy had been informed and that the meetings would highlight the state government's failures and its discontinuation of welfare schemes implemented during Kumaraswamy's tenure.

On renaming the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Gowda accused the Congress of hypocrisy.

He questioned the Congress's concern for Mahatma Gandhi, asking whether Gandhi's posters were ever prominently displayed during the tenures of Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi.

He noted that MGNREGA funds were being shared in a 60:40 ratio and that workdays had been increased, questioning the outrage over naming conventions.

The former PM also remarked that Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew how to run the country and clarified that he was not praising Modi. PTI GMS KH