Bengaluru, 18 Feb

The Opposition BJP in Karnataka on Wednesday strongly criticised the Congress government for allotting several civic amenity sites across the State for the construction of party offices.

The BJP alleged that the land had been allotted to the Congress at a ‘throwaway’ price—just five per cent of the guidance value.

It claimed the approvals were granted during Cabinet meetings to facilitate the construction of buildings for the party’s State unit in different parts of Karnataka.

According to Congress sources, the State unit has set a target of constructing at least 100 new buildings to mark the centenary of the 1924 Congress session in Belagavi, which was presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.

During the centenary celebrations in 2024, the government announced plans to establish new buildings to promote the party’s ideology.

Condemning the move, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said in a post on X, “Congress grabs government land for party offices — another brazen abuse of power.”

He alleged that while providing land and housing to the poor is the government’s responsibility, the Congress administration was instead indulging in self-serving decisions.

“Civic Amenity sites worth crores across the state have been allotted to the party at just five per cent of the market value. This is a direct loss to the public exchequer and a betrayal of the people of Karnataka,” he alleged.

He asked Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress president DK Shivakumar how the government could justify allotting prime land to the party when ordinary citizens struggle for years to secure even a modest plot.

“This exposes the truth plainly: for this government, party interest overrides public interest,” he charged.