The Bharatiya Janata Party has only made empty promises to citizens about overall development of the city, alleged M.K. Gunashekar, Opposition Leader, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council.
Addressing presspersons here on Monday, he said that neither the assurances made in the election manifesto nearly five years ago nor the promises made in the budgets presented by two former Chief Ministers — B.S. Yeddyurappa and Sadananda Gowda — have been kept. “Though the BJP is in power in both the State and in the BBMP council, there has been negligible development in the city,” he alleged.
Mr. Gunashekar alleged that the BJP was now trying to fool the citizens again. He said Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had once again claimed, on behalf of the BJP, that development of Bangalore would not be ignored in the 2013-14 Budget that will be presented on February 8.
“What about the projects envisaged in the previous budgets, such as five signal-free corridors, improvement of roads under TenderSure, eight multi-storeyed parking complexes and solid waste management infrastructure projects? The BJP government must publicly declare the amount that was spent on city development over the past five years,” he said.
Election promises
Mr. Gunashekar said the BJP was once again making these promises with an eye on the next elections.
He pointed out that the government would be able to get a vote on account approval of the Assembly for the budget requirements for four months.
“It will then be up to the next government to work towards fulfilling the promises and assurances made in the budget. When that is the case, how can Mr. Shettar make false promises to the citizens?” he asked.
Planning committee
As mandated under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the government had failed to form the District Planning Committee, he alleged.
He said the committee was essential for balanced development of the city. “The committee could have taken a decision on location of landfill sites, zonal regulations and other planning activities. When the JNNURM mandate has not been followed and neither have the promises kept, how does the BJP claim to have met the development needs of the city?” he asked.
