LoP Ashoka targets Shivakumar over 'Brand Bengaluru', mocks GBA's walk challenge

Bengaluru,

Targeting Chief Minister-designate D K Shivakumar over the city's crumbling infrastructure, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Tuesday questioned his grand vision of 'Brand Bengaluru'. He said the "criminal neglect" towards the city lies squarely at the feet of Shivakumar, who was Minister in-charge of Bengaluru Development in the Siddaramaiah-led cabinet.

The BJP leader also lashed out at GBA's "#1KmChallenge", terminating it as a "sick, tone-deaf joke", and urged them to fix the broken infrastructure first. The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has deleted its social media post asking citizens to walk for a kilometre, as netizens demanded walkable footpaths while accepting the challenge.

In a post on X, Ashoka said, "Look at the absolute disaster our IT capital has become! A single week of rain, and Bengaluru's roads have completely disintegrated into death traps. Commuters are left guessing where the road ends and where open, overflowing drains begin." "From Chickpet, K.R. Market, and Mamulpet to Horamavu, Outer Ring Road, and Lavelle Road, the entire city has been converted into a dangerous obstacle course. While the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) conducts mock parades and seasonal drama, the public is risking their lives navigating flooded, crater-ridden stretches full of filthy drain water," he said.

According to him, this criminal neglect lies squarely at the feet of the CM-designate Shivakumar. While he was busy plotting and manoeuvring to grab the high chair, the city he was supposed to protect has been completely abandoned. "Under his watch, civic coordination has completely collapsed. The Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) digs up the roads, the GBA fails to fix them, and the ordinary citizen pays the price with broken bones and damaged vehicles," he said.

The LoP asked, "Is this your grand vision of Brand Bengaluru, Mr. Shivakumar avare? A city where business is paralysed, transporters refuse to enter commercial zones, and two-wheelers daily gamble with their lives?" To make matters worse, instead of fixing the shattered roads, Shivakumar's hopeless administration is openly mocking citizens with a ridiculous social media campaign called the "#1KmChallenge", Ashoka said.

The GBA is actually telling Bengaluru residents to walk short distances instead of taking auto-rickshaws to "reduce congestion" and "improve health." "It's now time to stop hiding behind empty PR campaigns and start doing the job you fought so hard to get, Mr Shivakumar! Pothole filling cannot be a seasonal scam where temporary patches wash away with the very first drop of rain," he added.

The BJP leader demanded that Shivakumar immediately stop the political posturing, halt these insulting internet challenges, and fix the broken infrastructure before more innocent lives are lost. "We will hold you directly accountable on the streets and in the Assembly for turning our global city into a civic nightmare," he said, accusing the Congress of "failing" Bengaluru.