Bengaluru: There was high drama in Vidhan Soudha on Tuesday when the Bangalore BJP MLAs and MPs staged a walkout, shouting slogans against Bangalore Development Minister KJ George, as a fight broke out during the meet over the proposed steel flyover. The meeting, which began at 11am, ended abruptly around 1pm after a session of heated arguments.
George had called a meeting of all Bangalore legislators after Union Minister Sadananda Gowda insisted that the government reach a consensus over the steel bridge.
"The meeting was a just an eyewash by the government. The minister did not let anyone talk who was not in favour of the project and kept interrupting when others spoke. We suggested that there should be small flyovers built in three bottlenecks starting from Chalukya circle to Esteem Mall," BJP MLA Suresh Kumar told CNN-News 18.
Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrashekar, who was part of the meeting, was invited by George but did not get a chance to speak. BJP MLAs alleged that when Chandrashekar started to speak, George told him that he cannot speak as he had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court over the issue. Further, George told CNN-News18 that Chandrashekar was acting in the interest of BJP.
Rejecting the allegation, the Rajya Sabha MP said, "I was there to represent the voices of Bangalore and no one else. I was there to give my suggestions to the government over environmental issues and others."
Just as the BJP legislators walked out of the meeting and started addressing the media, Congress legislators followed them and also started addressing reporters. The corridors of Vidhan Soudha virtually looked like a battlefield where political parties gave their versions of the meeting to the media.
Speaking to CNN-News 18 KJ George said: "BJP is politicising the issue. People who are opposing this are around 1,500, whereas Bangalore belongs to 1 crore people. The government has consulted all experts and will go ahead with the decision of the steel bridge."
The controversial project has not gone down well with a section of citizens. Eminent personalities of the city have started the "Beda" campaign, raising their concerns on the steel bridge. Actor Prakash Belwadi told CNN-News18: “Opposition parties today got a glimpse of how the government is handling this issue. I hope they will now act upon our requests too. We all knew that the government is adamant on this project, but our protests will intensify in the coming days."
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