Civic election ’bonanza’ for city’s encroachers

BJP insiders say party leaders have asked officials to postpone demolitions till the poll is conducted

Civic election 'bonanza' for city's encroachers

BJP insiders say party leaders have asked officials to postpone demolitions till the poll is conducted

The impending Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) election has come as a boon for encroachers on civic property in the city.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have allegedly asked officials of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to stop all demolition operations till the poll is over.

This is despite the fact that the issue of ward reservation for the polls has not yet been resolved, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear a petition on January 5.

The state election commission has announced that the BBMP polls would be conducted on February 21.

R Ashok, one of the city-in-charge-ministers, allegedly instructed BDA officials to stall demolition activities.

Residents of Thippasandra had staged a protest last month when BDA had launched a demolition drive.

"We cannot afford to ruffle the feathers of our voters for any reason and that is why we have asked the BDA to stop demolition for a while," said a senior BJP leader.

While BDA sources said the respite for the encroachers was a temporary one, BDA Commissioner Siddiah denied they had taken such a step.

"Why would we stop our demolition drive? Nobody is pressurising us to stop and we will do it whenever it is called for," he said.

However, he was unable to explain why the several demolitions scheduled to take place after the Thippasandra protest did not take place.

R Ashok said, "Don't think we are politically so immature that we plot to lure votes through these gimmicks. We have done enough developmental works and people vote for us for that reason."

He added that the BJP was not afraid of BBMP polls and they would be held as per the schedule irrespective of the Supreme Court's decision.

Also read: BJP confident of civic poll win, Cong-JD(S) tie-up or not