Karnataka Vice President and State Congress President DK Shivakumar
BENGALURU: Twenty civic amenity sites in several urban local bodies in Karnataka have been allocated to Congress Bhavan Fund for construction of party offices at district and taluk levels, data from municipal and urban development departments show. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, had set a target of constructing 100 Congress buildings across the state and was planning to lay foundation stones for several of them on the day he completes six years as KPCC president later this year. Of the 24 sites, the Municipal Administration Department has allocated 12 plots worth more than Rs 5 crore, while the Urban Development Department has allocated 12 more plots worth more than Rs 12 crore. The BJP criticized the move, alleging that the Congress got properties worth Rs 40 lakh crore for Rs 2 lakh crore in 31 locations, including these 24 sites. Shivakumar, however, defended the allotments, saying the Congress was using government land. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Chalavadi Narayanaswamy issued a warning that the BJP will launch a protest if the government fails to withdraw the allocations.
