BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka, and other party leaders staging a protest against the State government’s proposed Bidadi Township Project at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Friday.
| Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.
The opposition to the Bidadi Township Project intensified on Friday, with former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa joining the protest at Freedom Park in central Bengaluru. The move gained significance as the veteran leader, who retired from electoral politics in 2022, has not publicly joined an agitation of this scale since then.During the gathering, a foot march from Bidadi to Bengaluru was announced in protest against the State government’s proposed Bidadi Township Project and its plan to build a second international airport in Kanakapura. The dates for the march will be announced soon, the BJP said.All leaders participateThe protest marked the BJP’s first large-scale agitation against the project, with the party’s State president B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, and B. Sriramulu taking part. Hitherto, the BJP’s coalition partner, Janata Dal (Secular), had taken the lead in supporting the farmers opposing the project.Speaking at the protest, Mr. Yediyurappa lashed out at the Congress government, accusing it of being “anti-farmer” and alleging that despite the severe drought in the State, it has failed to respond to people’s hardships and was instead trying to acquire fertile farmland for real estate interests.He demanded the withdrawal of the cases against the Bidadi farmers. The Bidadi police had registered two cases against the farmers, invoking stringent charges, including attempt to murder, after a protest turned violent in Mandalahalli on July 12, when farmers attacked government officials who had gone there to conduct a survey.Mr. Yediyurappa warned the government that the BJP would intensify and expand its protests across the State if the cases against the farmers, which he termed as false and booked out of context, were not withdrawn.Mr. Vijayendra further accused the government of using goons to intimidate farmers opposing the project. “On the one hand, the Chief Minister claims that land will not be forcibly taken from farmers. On the other hand, the government is hatching conspiracies by filing false cases against farmers,” he said.Row over second airportMr. Yediyurappa also opposed the proposal to build an airport near Kanakapura, saying it would benefit people from central and north Karnataka if it were built in the eastern part of Bengaluru.The veteran’s participation in the protest came days after former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda held a press conference objecting to the Township Project and threatening to go on a hunger strike near Vidhana Soudha if the project was not reconsidered.Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has since announced a committee to assess the merits and demerits of the project. However, protests by farmers have continued in Bidadi, as the government issued the final notification for land acquisition in four villages just hours after Mr. Shivakumar’s statement. Published - July 17, 2026 08:46 pm IST
