Bengaluru: 165km Congress The padayatra concluded with a massive public meeting at the National College Ground in Bengaluru on Thursday.
The rally saw the presence of Congress office-bearers, including general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh. SurjewalaKPCC President DK Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who vowed to continue their fight Mekedatu Project until it is implemented.
Ahead of the rally, the party continued its padyatra, passing through various parts of the city, creating a traffic jam for the third consecutive day. Motorists faced heavy traffic jams as thousands of Congress workers took part in the march on foot. So much so that the High Court took note of the inconvenience and asked the government not to allow rallies and processions in the city from now on.
‘Centre delays approval’
Congress leaders rained heavily in the rally BJP State and central governments for delay in environmental clearance for Mekedatu project. The Congress government led by Siddaramaiah has done all the necessary groundwork for its implementation. Now only approval from the central government is needed. But the Center is delaying it without any reason, Kharge alleged.
“PM’s industrialist friends get NOC in no time, but not a project that helps about two crore people. This shows where the priorities of the BJP government are. People of Karnataka will not forgive BJP and teach them a lesson.
Siddaramaiah claimed that the padyatra was a huge success despite the BJP government’s attempts to stop it and mislead people about the Congress’s efforts to implement the project. “When we are fighting for the project for the benefit of the people, both BJP and JD(S) are making fun of us. This shows how shameless they can be. The people of the state cannot get any justice from these parties,” the former CM said.
Surjewala said the BJP has cheated the people of Karnataka by not implementing the project despite electing 25 party MPs from the state. “If Congress comes to power in the state, its first decision will be to implement the Mekedatu project.
KPCC president DK Shivakumar said the party did the padyatra not for its political gains but for the benefit of the people in and around Bengaluru. “Bengaluru people may face inconvenience for three days due to the padyatra. But they should realize that we are fighting for a project that will meet their drinking water needs for the next 30 years. He also said that the party would launch an agitation for early implementation of the Kalasa-Banduri and UKP projects in the coming days.
Nanjavadutha Swami of Gurugunda Brahmeswara Math and Vachanand Swami of Harihar Panchmasali Math expressed solidarity with the Congress. The party had started a padyatra with the theme ‘Namma Neeru Namma Hakku’ (Our water, our right) from the confluence of the Kaveri and Arkavathi rivers in Kanakapura taluk of Ramnagar district on January 9. Earlier it was to end on January 19.
However, amidst rising Covid cases in the state and a rap from the High Court, the major opposition was forced to put it on hold temporarily. The party high command had also asked the state unit to stop the yatra. Last Sunday, the second leg of the 80 km long padyatra started from Ramnagar.
The rally saw the presence of Congress office-bearers, including general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh. SurjewalaKPCC President DK Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who vowed to continue their fight Mekedatu Project until it is implemented.
Ahead of the rally, the party continued its padyatra, passing through various parts of the city, creating a traffic jam for the third consecutive day. Motorists faced heavy traffic jams as thousands of Congress workers took part in the march on foot. So much so that the High Court took note of the inconvenience and asked the government not to allow rallies and processions in the city from now on.
‘Centre delays approval’
Congress leaders rained heavily in the rally BJP State and central governments for delay in environmental clearance for Mekedatu project. The Congress government led by Siddaramaiah has done all the necessary groundwork for its implementation. Now only approval from the central government is needed. But the Center is delaying it without any reason, Kharge alleged.
“PM’s industrialist friends get NOC in no time, but not a project that helps about two crore people. This shows where the priorities of the BJP government are. People of Karnataka will not forgive BJP and teach them a lesson.
Siddaramaiah claimed that the padyatra was a huge success despite the BJP government’s attempts to stop it and mislead people about the Congress’s efforts to implement the project. “When we are fighting for the project for the benefit of the people, both BJP and JD(S) are making fun of us. This shows how shameless they can be. The people of the state cannot get any justice from these parties,” the former CM said.
Surjewala said the BJP has cheated the people of Karnataka by not implementing the project despite electing 25 party MPs from the state. “If Congress comes to power in the state, its first decision will be to implement the Mekedatu project.
KPCC president DK Shivakumar said the party did the padyatra not for its political gains but for the benefit of the people in and around Bengaluru. “Bengaluru people may face inconvenience for three days due to the padyatra. But they should realize that we are fighting for a project that will meet their drinking water needs for the next 30 years. He also said that the party would launch an agitation for early implementation of the Kalasa-Banduri and UKP projects in the coming days.
Nanjavadutha Swami of Gurugunda Brahmeswara Math and Vachanand Swami of Harihar Panchmasali Math expressed solidarity with the Congress. The party had started a padyatra with the theme ‘Namma Neeru Namma Hakku’ (Our water, our right) from the confluence of the Kaveri and Arkavathi rivers in Kanakapura taluk of Ramnagar district on January 9. Earlier it was to end on January 19.
However, amidst rising Covid cases in the state and a rap from the High Court, the major opposition was forced to put it on hold temporarily. The party high command had also asked the state unit to stop the yatra. Last Sunday, the second leg of the 80 km long padyatra started from Ramnagar.