Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has defended the state government’s stance on Bengaluru’s traffic troubles, attributing the crisis to inadequate infrastructure rather than law enforcement failures. He emphasized the necessity of long-term urban planning to ease congestion.
Responding to criticism of Deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s remark that even divine intervention couldn’t fix the city’s traffic, Parameshwara downplayed concerns, stating that major metropolitan areas worldwide face similar challenges. He pointed out that Bengaluru, compared to other Indian cities, remains somewhat manageable.
He dismissed the BJP’s claims of selective policing in the Udayagiri police station incident, asserting that law enforcement acts without bias and promptly controlled the situation. He accused the opposition of exploiting the matter for political gains.
Regarding the micro-loan ordinance, he justified stricter penalties, explaining that harsher laws were necessary to curb harassment by lenders. Punishments have been increased to five years in prison, and fines raised to ₹5 lakh to prevent exploitative lending practices.
On the investigation into alleged financial mismanagement under the previous BJP government, he confirmed that the Justice John D’Cunha-led committee submitted its report. A cabinet sub-committee is reviewing the findings, and action will be taken accordingly.
Parameshwara reiterated that solving Bengaluru’s traffic issues requires decentralization, citing global examples like Malaysia’s Putrajaya model. Developing satellite towns like Tumakuru and Ramanagara, he said, is key to reducing congestion.
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