Hassan : Hassan district minister KM Shivalingegowda on Friday said it was inappropriate to politicise NICE Road project and target chief minister DK Shivakumar over the issue.
Questioning the timing of the allegations, Shivalingegowda pointed out that Union minister HD Kumaraswamy had served as chief minister twice, in 2006 and 2018.
Addressing a news conference in Hassan, he said NICE Road project was initiated during the tenure of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda as chief minister. There is no need to unnecessarily politicise the issue now,” he said. He alleged that attempts were being made to politically weaken Shivakumar, who, he said, has emerged as an influential leader in the state.
The project contributed to Bengaluru’s development and provided significant benefits to IT city. “If there were any irregularities, violations of law or breach of trust in the project, action should have been taken at that time. Those responsible should face legal consequences. “If there were irregularities in the NICE project, why was it not cancelled or investigated during those tenures? Why raise the issue only now?” he asked.
The documents available today were also available then.
He explained that Form 6 is used for the inclusion of new voters, while Form 7 is meant for objections to or deletion of names from electoral rolls. The minister also accused BJP and Union govt of misusing Election Commission in the name of special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Vote & Share your view
The minister alleged that applications seeking deletion of voters’ names were being submitted using forged signatures.