We know B'luru well, keep off K'taka's affairs, Cong leaders tell Vijayan on eviction row

New Delhi/Bengaluru, Dec 27 (PTI) Leaders of the ruling Congress in Karnataka on Saturday reacted sharply to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's criticism of "bulldozer action" to evict minorities from a locality in Bengaluru, insisting they cannot allow squatters to set up slums in the city and asked the Marxist veteran to focus on his state.

While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the eviction drive at Fakir Colony saying it was necessary against illegal occupation of government land, his deputy D K Shivakumar asked Vijayan to refrain from "interfering in Karnataka's affairs," remarks that were echoed by his cabinet colleague Ramalinga Reddy.

Vijayan had slammed the alleged "bulldozer action" in Bengaluru in a Facebook post on Friday. He strongly criticised the reported demolition of structures in minority residential areas in Karnataka's capital, calling the action "shocking and painful".

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said that since 2019, people were living unauthorised on a five-acre plot designated for solid waste management.

"... there is no safety there. So officials served notice to the illegal occupants asking them to vacate. As they failed to vacate, they were evicted," he said.

The CM said he has asked the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department to make alternative arrangements for those evicted "because most of them are migrants".

"They have come here from other places, but from the human point of view, we have to make alternative arrangements and provide them a dwelling," he added.

Deputy CM Shivakumar called Vijayan's remarks a "political statement," and advised Vijayan not to interfere in Karnataka's affairs.

"Without knowing the facts, Pinarayi should not interfere in our state's affairs. These are all political gimmicks at the time of the elections," Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president, told reporters in Bengaluru. His "elections" reference seemed to be about the Assembly polls scheduled in Kerala a few months from now.

He said it was unfortunate that senior leaders like Vijayan commented on the matter without knowing the facts of the issues in Bengaluru.

The Congress government in Karnataka knows humanity and will give an alternative space as per the rules to the eligible people. According to Shivakumar, the slum dwellers came and "captured" the land overnight. Barring a few, most of the encroachers are outsiders.

Asking Vijayan not to interfere in such affairs, Shivakumar said the Congress government knows Bengaluru well, and it does not want to entertain the slum created by land mafias.

"We tried to protect our land, and we are ready to give houses to those who are eligible, under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana. Our chief minister Siddaramaiah and I have directed officers to submit a report, which they did. Our leaders from Kerala have also spoken to me," he added.

He clarified that no bulldozers were used in the eviction drive. Instead, the government tried to protect the public place, which is in the heart of the city.

"We can’t encourage slums like this. It is a site meant for waste management," Shivakumar said.

He added that he would give a reply to the Kerala CM and would send him and also the Congress leaders in Kerala. a report on the incident. According to him, slum clearance was a routine exercise.

"It is a routine thing that takes place in Bengaluru. You know that Bengaluru is not like Mumbai or any other city. We don't have many slums in Bengaluru, and we don’t want to create slums in Bengaluru," he underlined.

Shivakumar said the place where the slum had come up falls under the Byatarayanapura Assembly segment, represented by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.

The Deputy CM said Gowda is a very learned senior leader of the Congress party and the government who was aware of the fact regarding the status of the site. He was the one who directed officers not to allow any land grab attempts.

"No one should come and put up huts there. It is not a question of minorities or other people. We don't want to hurt anyone but if anyone wants land and are eligible, we will definitely give houses," Shivakumar said.

He added that the Congress government has planned for lakhs of houses in the city.

"Our CM and our Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan are in talks with the officers to find out how to rehabilitate them. Only genuine will be rehabilitated, not those who try to occupy government land without any reason." Shivakumar said the land in question was notified nine years ago for solid waste management, where people built slums in the quarry pit overnight.

Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy too advised Vijayan to look after his own state first.

"Let him look after his state, we will look after ours. However, I don't know why those dwellings were evicted because I was not in the city. I will react after getting the details," Reddy said.

In his post, the Kerala Chief Minister had said the incident reflected a form of minority-targeting politics seen earlier in north India and warned that such practices were now spreading to the south.

He alleged that entire families were forced out of their homes in harsh winter conditions and pushed onto the streets, leaving them with no choice but to flee.

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