Bengaluru Metro now 2nd largest after Delhi; Cong leaders seek credit via publicity tours: Tejasvi Surya

Bengaluru, Aug 7 BJP Yuva Morcha National President and Bengaluru South Lok Sabha MP, Tejasvi Surya, said on Thursday that the Bengaluru Metro connectivity is set to reach nearly 100 km, thanks to the priority given to the city's infrastructure by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and the Prime Minister himself.

The Karnataka Congress leaders, now are taking publicity tours to get credit, he added.

Speaking at a press conference at the State BJP office -- Jagannath Bhavan in Bengaluru, Surya said that before Narendra Modi became the country's Prime Minister in 2014, Bengaluru's Metro connectivity was about 7.5 km.

He added that after the inauguration of the Yellow Line on August 10, Bengaluru's metro connectivity will reach around 100 km.

He said that this is the metro with the second highest connectivity and expansion after Delhi.

"The Metro in Bengaluru should be inaugurated as soon as possible; there should be no delay, and the Prime Minister has fixed the date and is coming accordingly. He is not only the Prime Minister of Karnataka or Delhi but the Prime Minister of India. The state government, BJP, and the people here should be ready to welcome him (PM Modi) with great enthusiasm and as a grand celebration. Everyone is prepared for his welcome event," Surya added.

The state government, especially the Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, travelled on the Bengaluru Yellow Line Metro on August 6. This is a 50-50 joint venture. They (Congress government) claim they have made a big contribution. Over the last two-and-a-half years, neither the Chief Minister nor the Deputy Chief Minister has been worried even a single day about the Yellow Line metro," the BJP MP said.

"As soon as it was announced that the Prime Minister will inaugurate the Metro line on Aug 10, yesterday they (Congress) started publicity tours. The work on this Metro line began in 2018 and was supposed to be completed by 2021. Some problems occurred due to Covid-19, and some due to land acquisition. Even then, neither Congress nor anyone else came forward to help," he added, while criticising the Congress-led state government.

"During the Covid-19 period, B.S. Yediyurappa-led BJP government was in power. Even during Covid-19, civil works happened under our (BJP) government. There were problems in calling workers, so we met former CM Yediyurappa and he released additional funds. Much work was done. Later, during former CM and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai's tenure, we (BJP) completed 95 per cent of the civil works. Their (Congress) government didn't even appoint a full-time Managing Director for BMRCL," Surya alleged.

Last January, after a three-month-long struggle, the state government appointed a full-time Managing Director (MD) for Bengaluru Metro for the first time.

"I have visited the coach manufacturing plant three times. Because there was no full-time MD, the MD was not present. Yesterday, the state government appointed another officer for Suburban Rail, who also holds charge of another department. The work on four corridors of the suburban rail is currently stalled," the BJP MP said.

"Regarding visa issues, neither the Chief Minister nor the Deputy Chief Minister spoke or tweeted. They didn't speak to the Union Ministers. When Royal Challengers Bengaluru won a cricket match, the state government posed as if they hit sixes and fours," Surya added.

"Those who took credit for the cricket match, will they now avoid taking credit for the Metro? People are asking where you were when there were land acquisition and visa issues. They have delayed the inauguration six times -- 15 days ago, one month ago. Recently, the seven MLAs of the Yellow Line area, two MPs, our district president, and hundreds of public members... all worked hard, protested, and demanded the inauguration be done by August 15," he said.

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