4 months ago
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Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) connected Wednesday visited Fakeer Colony and parts of Waseem Layout successful Kogilu Layout, wherever the Greater Bengaluru Authority(GBA) precocious demolished houses allegedly built connected authorities land.
The BJP alleged that the country was astatine hazard of becoming a hub for sleeper cells, and demanded that the substance beryllium handed implicit to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for a elaborate probe, including verification of the citizenship of those residing there.
Leader of Opposition successful the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok, on with different BJP leaders, interacted with residents successful the locality and examined individuality cards and different documents. According to a BJP release, Mr. Ashok questioned residents astir however agelong they had been surviving successful the area, who had brought them determination and whether the sites had been formally allotted.
During 1 specified interaction, a section pistillate reportedly told Mr. Ashok that her household had been surviving determination for astir 25 years. Disputing the claim, Mr. Ashok said determination were nary disposable houses successful outer images from a twelvemonth ago.
Addressing reporters later, Mr. Ashok criticised Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for not visiting areas wherever encroachments had been cleared. He insisted that citizenship verification of the residents should beryllium the archetypal measurement and reiterated the request for an NIA investigation.
Fact-finding panel
Mr. Ashok further alleged discrepancies successful authoritative figures connected the fig of residents. “Initially, it was reported successful the media that determination were astir 160 residents. Now officials accidental determination are 280, and immoderate adjacent estimation the colonisation could spell up to 400. Satellite images from conscionable 1 twelvemonth agone amusement the country arsenic wholly green. This suggests that these settlements person travel up precise recently,” helium said. He besides alleged that a rowdy-sheeter named Waseem had developed the layout successful his ain sanction and accused him of acting arsenic a Congress agent.
The BJP besides targeted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Housing Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, alleging that the Congress authorities was attempting to regularise amerciable settlements by promising housing. “Providing structure without verifying eligibility volition acceptable a unsafe precedence,” Mr. Ashok said.
Meanwhile, BJP State president B. Y. Vijayendra has constituted a seven-member fact-finding committee to survey the Kogilu Layout incident. The committee has been asked to taxable its study wrong a week, the enactment said successful the statement.
Kogilu rehabilitation
On the different hand, the authorities maintained that owed process was being followed. Housing Minister Mr. Khan said that pursuing the eviction drive, the GBA and the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation were reviewing documents to place eligible beneficiaries for alternate imperishable housing. “The government’s volition is to supply houses lone to those who are eligible. The Chief Minister has instructed officials to behaviour a broad papers reappraisal without immoderate haste,” helium said.
He added that officials from the Revenue Department and the GBA were engaged successful the verification process and that, successful this context, the organisation of houses scheduled for January 1 had been postponed to January 2.
Home Minister rejects claim
Meanwhile, Home Minister G. Parameshwara connected Wednesday dismissed the BJP’s allegation arsenic a “political statement”. He said that the alleviation measures were being extended purely connected humanitarian grounds and lone aft thorough verification of documents to found eligibility, adding that the beneficiaries were section residents.
“Let the BJP protestation if it wants, but it is incorrect to casually assertion that Bangladeshis are being accommodated. Don’t we verify documents? Houses are allotted lone aft due checks. If immoderate Bangladeshi nationals are found, volition we springiness them houses? They volition beryllium arrested, informed to their Embassy and deported,” Dr. Parameshwara said successful effect to a question.
