Leader of Opposition R. Ashok on February 2 questioned the continued silence of Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on the ‘Brand Bengaluru’ campaign, and his absence from the House during the legislative session.
Speaking on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the State Legislative Assembly, Mr. Ashok cited a song Kaanadanthe Maayavadhanu Namma Shiva… from a popular Kannada film, and said Mr. Shivakumar had not been attending the House regularly.
He remarked that the Deputy Chief Minister, who earlier spoke frequently about ‘Brand Bengaluru’, had fallen silent. Making a sarcastic comparison, he said that while his own shawl cost ₹150, the shawl worn by Mr. Shivakumar was worth ₹2.5 lakh. He alleged that under Mr. Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, ‘Brand Bengaluru’ had turned into ‘Bad Bengaluru’, pointing to the potholes on roads.
Power struggle
The opposition leader further alleged that a power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar was responsible for the slowdown in development work across Karnataka.
