Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, commenting on the controversial steel flyover project, said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in his first term, was “scared” to go ahead with the project.
According to a report by NDTV, Shivakumar was addressing the Assembly when he mentioned that he receives multiple requests to construct tunnels and flyovers.
The steel flyover, in particular, has been a bone of contention between the BJP and the Congress, and has faced multiple delays in the past due to protests from activist groups.
Speaking about this, Shivakumar said, “In 2017, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KJ George, who was the then Bengaluru City Development minister, were scared about protests against a steel flyover in the city. If it were me, I wouldn’t have succumbed to the noise made by protesters and gone ahead with the project”.
Furthermore, a report in Deccan Herald quoted him as saying, “If it was me, I’d not have cowered. I’d have bulldozed come what may”.
Shivakumar holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, which is considered to be an important one.