Bengaluru, Aug 23 (IANS) The political tussle between Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy over toll collection on the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Road (NICE Road) continued on Sunday, with Kumaraswamy asserting that he was not jealous of Shivakumar and questioning why he should be, while stepping up his criticism of the state government over the toll issue.
Speaking to reporters in Ramanagara’s Akkur, Kumaraswamy said he had served as the Karnataka Chief Minister twice and had no reason to be jealous of Shivakumar.
“Why should I feel jealous? How many Chief Ministers has the state seen? I have also worked as Chief Minister twice. Is it a big matter? It is permanent. Why should I feel jealous? What will I get?” the Union Minister added.
He said he had raised his voice against alleged illegal activities in the state since entering politics and had learnt to do so from his father and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
“If illegal things happen in this state and I raise my voice, if you get burns in your stomach, what should I do?” Kumaraswamy said, apparently referring to the criticism directed at him by Chief Minister Shivakumar, his younger brother D.K. Suresh and his supporters.
Kumaraswamy also questioned the continuation of toll collection on the NICE Road, claiming that the project had violated the agreed toll framework and that farmers whose land was acquired had not received compensation even after two decades.
He said the NICE Road does not come under the National Highways framework and claimed that toll collection on the road had been illegal from the beginning.
Kumaraswamy recalled that a House Committee led by senior Congress leader T.B. Jayachandra had examined the NICE project in 2016 and asked the Karnataka government to make the committee’s report public.
“If they (Karnataka government) have any spare time, let them read the report,” he said.
Without naming Minister H.C. Balakrishna, Kumaraswamy criticised the statement that he should approach the Centre and submit an application seeking an end to toll collection on the NICE Road.
He asked whether those making such statements had properly understood the status of the road and the issue surrounding toll collection.
Earlier, former Congress MP D.K. Suresh, brother of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, accused political opponents of trying to provoke people and create a confrontation with the state government indirectly referring to Union Minister Kumaraswamy.
Suresh questioned why the focus was only on the NICE toll and challenged Kumaraswamy to call for people to stop paying toll at all toll plazas if he was genuinely opposed to toll collection.
He alleged that political opponents were attempting to pit people against the state government while claiming to be working in the interests of the public.
Karnataka Municipal Administration Minister H.C. Balakrishna also hit back at Kumaraswamy, accusing him of trying to bring disrepute to Chief Minister Shivakumar.
Balakrishna said the matter was before the court and that toll collection could not be stopped immediately.
He said the Chief Minister had constituted a committee to examine the issue and that he was also a member of it.
According to Balakrishna, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara and Minister for Water Resources N. Cheluvarayaswamy are leading the committee.
He said the state government would take action after the committee submitted its report.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka also criticised the NICE project and supported the demand to stop toll collection.
“This project is against Karnataka and against Bengaluru. I opposed it then and I oppose it now,” Ashoka said.
He added that he had spoken for more than an hour in the State Assembly about what he termed the irregularities in the NICE project.
Ashoka claimed that the High Court had described the project as fraudulent and said that if the project itself had been found to be fraudulent, toll collection should also be considered illegal.
The escalating war of words comes amid renewed political focus on the NICE project, with the ruling Congress and Opposition leaders trading allegations over land acquisition, compensation, toll collection and the implementation of the project.
It can be noted that confusion over toll payments on the NICE Road has triggered daily confrontations between motorists and toll plaza staff, with drivers refusing to pay after Union Minister Kumaraswamy urged motorists not to pay the fee for using the road.
Kumaraswamy had alleged that the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project appeared to be one of Karnataka’s biggest scams and said the state government should take over the entire project.
He has also alleged that the company was illegally collecting charges and revising toll rates beyond the prescribed framework.
The Congress government and NICE officials have refuted the allegations.
–IANS
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