Congress, vested interests trying to defame 'brand Bengaluru' over floods: Tejasvi Surya

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru South BJP MP L S Tejasvi Surya on Thursday alleged that the Congress party and some vested interests are trying to defame ‘Brand Bengaluru’ over floods in some parts of the city.

“The opposition today is trying to defame 'Brand Bengaluru' for their petty political gains,” Surya, also President of BJP's youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, told reporters here.

He sought to know who owned the information technology Park in Bellandur here which got flooded due to two days of heavy rains and who encroached the lakes and their feeder canals in that region.

“The Congress party and its land grabbing leaders must answer these questions and first introspect before lecturing the BJP on any of these issues,” Surya said.

To a question that the BJP was in power in the Bengaluru civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Surya said even an inch of encroachment -- whether it is by the BJP, the Congress and the JD(S) -- must be removed.

The Lok Sabha member said the Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has given strict direction to clear the encroachments.

He also stated that his constituency has largely been unaffected by the floods except for two or three areas in Bommanahalli, which has been taken care of by the MLA there and authorities.

“The areas which largely experienced this inundation was in Bellandur, Marathahalli, which does not fall in my Lok Sabha constituency. Having said that, our authorities, our MLAs, and our MPs have been constantly working and in the last 36 hours to 48 hours, the whole issue has been resolved,” Surya said.