Bengaluru, 22 June

Highlighting Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda's repeated statements regarding "inherited problems and systemic failures" in the city, senior BJP leader R Ashoka on Monday alleged that the former was preparing his defence in advance, by distancing himself from the "disastrous legacy" left behind by his predecessor, DK Shivakumar.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly also claimed there was friction between Shivakumar and Gowda over the Greater Bengaluru Development portfolio and related departments.

Shivakumar was in charge of the Bengaluru Development portfolio in the previous Siddaramaiah government, before becoming the CM.

"Krishna Byre Gowda vs DK Shivakumar: Congress' Bengaluru civil war is now out in the open. Ever since the reluctant Krishna Byre Gowda took charge of the Bengaluru Development portfolio, he has been repeatedly distancing himself from the disastrous legacy left behind by his predecessor, DK Shivakumar. With every interview and every public statement, the message is becoming clearer: Don't blame me, Bengaluru was already broken when I took over," Ashoka posted on 'X'.

He said the minister's remarks were nothing short of a public indictment of the previous Bengaluru administration.

"When a sitting minister says Bengaluru's biggest problem is weak governance, poor enforcement, illegal layouts, and a broken administrative system, he is not attacking the opposition. He is describing the Bengaluru that his predecessor and now CM DK Shivakumar presided over for the last three years," he added.

Gowda had delayed taking charge of the Greater Bengaluru Development portfolio, citing "incomplete" allocation of key city-related departments.

He was unhappy because the CM retained direct control over the city's two influential planning agencies -- the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) -- and therefore delayed assuming charge of the department.

Gowda has been entrusted with the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and five city corporations under it, as well as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bengaluru Metro.

Ashoka said that for the last three years, Shivakumar marketed "Brand Bengaluru," but today, his own Cabinet colleague is effectively telling the people that Bengaluru has been left drowning in chaos, congestion, flooding, garbage, illegal construction and administrative paralysis.

"If Bengaluru's problems are the result of weak governance, then who governed Bengaluru? If rules were not enforced, who was in charge? If illegal layouts flourished, who looked the other way? If planning failed, who was responsible?" he asked, adding that the answers point to only one person.

Stating that what makes this even more astonishing is that Gowda appears to be preparing his defence in advance. "By repeatedly talking about inherited problems, decades-old issues and systemic failures, he seems to be signalling that the mess is so enormous that even he cannot fix it," the LoP said.

In simple terms, the Congress government's own minister is admitting that he has inherited a city administration that has been pushed to the brink of collapse, he said, adding that, "This is not an opposition charge. This is a confession from inside the Cabinet. The people of Bengaluru don't need Congress leaders blaming each other. They need answers."

Pointing out that Shivakumar spent three years claiming credit for Bengaluru, Ashoka said now that Bengaluru's failures are being exposed, his own successor is busy explaining why the situation is beyond repair.

"One Congress leader created the mess. Another Congress leader is explaining why he cannot clean it up. And Bengaluru is paying the price. When your own minister says governance has failed, the verdict is already out," he said, alleging that Congress failed Bengaluru.