Due to lack of work in Mysuru, Siddharamaiah was forced to contest from Badami: Pratap Simha
Mysore/Mysuru: The scheduled inspection of the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway by former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamaiah today (Mar. 9) has been cancelled. The proposed visit had sparked a political controversy in the State.
The inspection has been cancelled due to a screening committee meeting of the Congress party scheduled today in Bengaluru to send the list of probable candidates for the forthcoming Assembly elections.
Earlier, Siddharamaiah had claimed that the Expressway was upgraded by him as CM and Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, who was the Minister for Public Works in his Cabinet. “Oscar Fernandes, who was the Union Minister for Road Transport in the then Congress-led UPA Government not only upgraded the State Highway to a National Highway but also approved a proposal to widen the Highway into a 10-lane road,” he said.
The BJP dubbed the visit by the Leader of the Opposition as “an attempt to take credit for the project.” Siddharamaiah claimed to have travelled to Delhi, along with Mahadevappa, to secure approval for widening the road after it was upgraded to a National Highway.
“(Current) Mysuru MP Pratap Simha had no role to play in widening the road. Except for a few kilometres from Mysuru till Kalasthavadi in its outskirts, which fall in Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency, the rest of the Highway falls in the jurisdiction of other Lok Sabha constituencies, including Mandya and Bengaluru Rural,” Siddharamaiah said.
Responding to the allegations, Pratap Simha said that the people of Mysuru have “taught a lesson” to Siddharamaiah. “Because of his lack of work in the constituency, he was forced to contest from Badami,” he said.
“The DPR for the project happened in 2014 and NHAI took over the project in 2016. In 2018, when Prime Minister Modi came to Mysuru, he announced this project. This is the first Highway in Karnataka where the person who announced the project is inaugurating the project. Siddharamaiah can say what he wants, but people know the truth,” he said.
This post was published on March 9, 2023 7:56 pm