Bidadi protests intensify; Deve Gowda slams CM Shivakumar, asks him to 'speak truth'

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Monday (August 10) hit out at Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and accused him of destroying the lives of farmers over the acquisition of agricultural land for the proposed GBIT project near Bidadi in Bengaluru South district.

Gowda participated in the JD(S)' padayatre (foot march). Supported by alliance partner BJP, the JD(S)' march from Byramangala near Bidadi to Freedom Park in Bengaluru city, led by the party's youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, entered its second day on Monday.

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The Opposition JD(S) and BJP are opposing the acquisition of agricultural land for the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township (GBIT).

What Gowda said

The three-day march was flagged off by JD(S) leader and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy at Byramangala on Sunday, along with Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka. It is expected to cover a total distance of about 38 km.

The 93-year-old Gowda participated as the second day of the march began at BGS circle in Bidadi.

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The protesters raised slogans such as "Namma Bhoomi, Namma Hakku" (Our land, our right), accusing the government of promoting real estate interests and trying to suppress farmers by filing false cases against them.

Addressing the gathering, Gowda asserted that he, along with his son Kumaraswamy, grandson Nikhil, and JD(S) leaders and legislators, would not let any injustice happen to farmers and the people.

"Today, a chief minister, who belongs to the Vokkaliga community, falsely alleges that Deve Gowda, Kumaraswamy and Nikhil cannot digest if any other Vokkaliga other than them becomes the CM. But I want to make it clear: whoever is the chief minister, if he does a good job, we will support them," Gowda said.

Compensation to farmers

Hitting out at Chief Minister Shivakumar for stating that he was only continuing with the GBIT project that Kumaraswamy initiated as Chief Minister in 2006, Gowda said, "Shivakumar, you rule the state for two years. We don't have any objections. But why speak lies to destroy the livelihood of farmers?"

"By destroying the livelihood of the farmers, you are doing this project. For whose sake? Please tell the truth – for whose sake," he asked.

According to the government's information, 20,000 sites under the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) are lying vacant. Not only that, in various layouts of Bengaluru, a number of sites are lying vacant. There is no one to buy them and a large number of constructed houses are lying vacant. The committee constituted by the government should gather data on this, Gowda said.

Pointing out that the Chief Minister, after the protests were intensified, declared that compensation exceeding Rs 3 crore per acre would be provided to farmers whose lands will be acquired for the project, Gowda said, "Why do you want to destroy the livelihood of the farmers here? For what purpose? Please tell us Shivakumar."

"You (Shivakumar) should rule the state, we have no objections. But until you stop attempting to destroy the livelihood of the farmers, this Deve Gowda – who may be 93-years-old – will not step back for any reason, and the same applies to Kumaraswamy and Nikhil. Write it down. We will not let you build your buildings by destroying the livelihood of farmers," he said.

Stating that he was not sure what assurances Shivakumar had given in Delhi to become the Chief Minister by removing Siddaramaiah, he further said, "To fulfil those promises, you are destroying the livelihood of the farmers here by giving their lands here. To whom do you want to give it? To which company? Speak the truth."

Noting that no one should mistake thinking he was old, Gowda asserted that, "My body may be old, but not my intellect. My 'buddhi' is still fine. I draw strength to fight from the people and will continue to fight for them."

Gowda's 'don't give up your land' message

He invited people to join a large-scale meeting that has been called in Bengaluru's Freedom Park on August 19, and told people, "Not to lose heart and to stay strong. Please don't give up your land." Recalling his long association with the people of Ramanagara from where he contested and won Assembly polls in 1994, Gowda said he subsequently became the CM and also the PM.

Amid protests by farmers and locals, the government last week constituted a high-level committee headed by retired High Court Judge Justice Guhanathan Narendar to review the varying opinions and feedback regarding the Greater Bengaluru Integrated Township project.

Earlier, despite opposition from farmers and local people, the government issued two sets of final notifications for the acquisition of over 5,400 acres of land spread across seven villages for the GBIT project, which is projected as India's "first AI-powered integrated township".

The Bidadi project reportedly requires acquiring 9,600 acres spread across nine revenue villages and 16 non-revenue villages. The state government had issued a preliminary notification in March last year to acquire a total of 7,481 acres across nine villages in the region for the proposed project, and more notifications are expected in the coming days.

Shivakumar hits back

Responding to Gowda, Shivakumar hit back and termed the JD(S) padayatre as a fight by the party for "political survival".

"They (JD(S)) are fighting for their political survival. There are no farmers there (in the protest), they have brought their workers from other constituencies and are doing the yatre. Let them do it, I won't say no to what is their right," Shivakumar said.

Speaking to reporters in Kolar, he said, "I have been saying that we are only continuing the project they started (initiated by Kumaraswamy as CM in 2006). They had planned to provide a compensation of Rs 25 lakh per acre (to farmers whose lands will be acquired for the project), while we have taken necessary measures to provide compensation of Rs 2.5 to 3.5 crore per acre (depending on the case)."

Responding to JD(S) leaders' claims that 20,000 sites under the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) are lying vacant in Bengaluru, the CM said, "It is not possible, we are completely getting it done." To a question, he said, "They (JD(S)) are the ones who signed both the Bidadi and NICE road projects. Are you aware who did the NICE project? It was them. They did a good thing, Bengaluru has survived today (from traffic) because that road came. I'm not saying what they did is wrong, but there was some selfishness involved. I will speak about it later."

(With agency inputs)