Ramanagara, 19 Sept

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar reiterated his commitment to his home district, Ramanagara (now Bengaluru South), by saying that “I am born in this soil, I will live here and die here.”

“I have nothing to take from this district, as I belong here. My only priority is to empower my people here,” he said at an event organised at Ramanagara to celebrate the birth anniversary of Devaraj Urs on Friday.

“Some are criticising that I have renamed the district, keeping in mind real estate. I believe in principled life, and I have done it for the people of this district. We have already decided to make sites in 100 acres of land and distribute them to the needy. We have already instructed officials to clear Bagar Hukum and other lands.”

“We have already distributed sites in Kanakapura in about 100 acres. We have given Bagar Hukum land to 8,000 people. DK Suresh has been given the responsibility here,” he said.

Targeting the Opposition, he said that the JD(S) has lost its opportunity to be in politics. 

“(Union Minister) HD Kumaraswamy became the CM twice from this constituency, but he did not give any sites to people. Why should they be in politics?” he said. “Former minister Ashwathnarayana challenged our manliness, but he could not even issue a single site. BJP did not help anyone when it was in power.”

Hailing former chief minister Devaraj Urs as a secular leader, Shivakumar added, “Devaraj Urs is from a royal family, but he worked for the poor. He uplifted every single community.”