Bengaluru, Jan 1 Amid the demolition row, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Mandya district of Karnataka have written an open letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, stating that if he intervenes in the matter, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar would immediately act and fulfil their demands.
Following a comment by Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan alleging that the Karnataka government was adopting the 'bulldozer' model of Uttar Pradesh to raze houses belonging to Muslims in Bengaluru, the AICC intervened, after which the Congress-led government in Karnataka announced rehabilitation measures and the allotment of houses to encroachers.
Protesting this development, BJP workers in Mandya staged a protest and addressed a letter to the Kerala Chief Minister.
"There are many poor people in our district and across the state who are yet to be allotted houses. If you raise your voice on their behalf and show concern for them, people firmly believe that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Deputy Chief Minister will make the allotments," the letter said.
The letter, written in Kannada, further stated, "The moment you comment on social media, houses are immediately allotted to illegal immigrants."
"Sir, the moment you wrote a single post asking for a humanitarian alternative arrangement for the people of the illegal Kogilu settlement in Bengaluru, our Karnataka government panicked and announced that new houses would be provided at Baiyappanahalli in Bengaluru. This has made Kannadigas understand the extent of your power," the letter said.
"In Karnataka, nearly 14,000 people have lost their homes due to floods, rain-related damage, landslides and other natural calamities. They are living in plastic sheds without shelter. Thousands of people have been waiting for years, like thirsty birds, for sites and houses under various housing schemes.
"If you kindly write one post expressing concern for the poor of our state, we believe our Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will certainly follow your directions. In our state, people are even saying that the entire administration of Karnataka has been handed over to you through a General Power of Attorney," the BJP stated.
"We worship Lord Rama, Krishna, Shiva and Parvati — we request you to show compassion towards us as well," the letter stated.
The letter further recalled that when night traffic restrictions through the Bandipur reserve forest route were lifted, when the Karnataka government provided compensation for an elephant stampede in Kerala, and when funds were given by Karnataka to build houses in Kerala, it became clear how influential the Kerala Chief Minister was.
"Therefore, we earnestly appeal to you to raise your voice on our behalf as well. If possible, please also ask your state's MP and AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, to write a post," BJP workers said.
"We thought that CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM Shivakumar are strong leaders. We didn't know that they were so helpless in front of you. We realised that you are the super CM. Our CM and Deputy CM are fighting for the position and appeasing one section of society. We are people who wear a tilak and worship Hindu gods. You (Kerala CM) can show mercy on us as well. In total, nearly 40 lakh people in Karnataka are waiting for housing facilities. Amar, Akbar and Anthony should be treated equally. Only Akbar is considered, and Amar and Anthony have nothing in Karnataka," the letter stated.
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