Bengaluru, June 27 (IANS) Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, on Saturday, alleged that Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had been biding his time for several years and systematically pursuing plans to acquire fertile agricultural land from farmers in Bidadi.
Kumaraswamy had written to the Chief Minister requesting him to participate in an open discussion with farmers at Byramangala. However, the Chief Minister remained absent from the meeting, prompting the Union Minister to engage directly with the aggrieved farmers himself.
Addressing the gathering, Kumaraswamy levelled a series of serious allegations against the Chief Minister. He alleged that the purported plan to acquire lands around Bidadi was not a recent development. According to him, Shivakumar had for years harboured ambitions to bring these lands under real estate development and had encouraged farmers by suggesting that, as residents of Bengaluru, they would eventually command exorbitant prices for their holdings.
The Union Minister recalled remarks allegedly made by Shivakumar on October 24, 2023, during a temple event held at Sathanur in Kanakapura constituency on the occasion of Vijayadashami. According to Kumaraswamy, Shivakumar then urged farmers in Kanakapura not to sell their land even if offered double the prevailing price, saying that in the future they would become residents of “Bengaluru district” and their land would fetch substantially higher returns.
Kumaraswamy contended that these remarks provided an early indication of plans to rename the Ramanagara district as “Bengaluru South.” He noted that the comments generated widespread discussion in political circles and the real estate sector, attracting speculative interest in the region.
He further pointed out that on May 22, 2025, the State Cabinet, chaired by then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, approved the renaming of Ramanagara district, following which the Revenue Department issued a Gazette notification the very next day, implementing the decision.
Kumaraswamy also noted that on January 18, 2024, acting on a proposal moved by then Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, the State Cabinet approved amendments to the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority Act, paving the way for the establishment of the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA). He said a final Gazette notification constituting the GBDA was issued on June 11, 2026.
Further, he stated that on March 12, 2025, the first official preliminary notification was issued through the GBDA to initiate land acquisition proceedings covering approximately 7,481 acres across nine villages in Ramanagara and Harohalli taluks.
He alleged that anyone who examined these developments closely could see that the Chief Minister had had his eyes on these lands for years, adding that decisions were taken in a phased manner and authority was allegedly misused in a systematic attempt to deprive farmers of their lands.
Kumaraswamy asserted that the land where he was addressing the gathering belonged to Ramanagara district and said he would never refer to it as Bengaluru South. He added that he did not know in which birth he was destined to be associated with this land, saying he was born in Hassan, but the mothers and sisters of this region gave him his political birth.
Responding to allegations that the Bidadi township project was originally his vision, Kumaraswamy maintained that he had abandoned the project and formally announced its withdrawal on the Assembly floor after local residents opposed it. He alleged that the same township proposal that he shelved in deference to public opinion was now being revived by the Congress government, particularly by the present Chief Minister.
Referring to criticism over the “Red Zone” issue, Kumaraswamy accused his detractors of misleading people and said those raising such slogans understood colour zoning far better than he did. He further said that he personally owns agricultural land in the region, acquired through his earnings, and cultivates ragi, coconut and arecanut.
He asked: if the Chief Minister could publicly tell people in Kanakapura not to part with even an inch of land, why should the people of Bidadi give away theirs?
Kumaraswamy also criticised the condition of Bengaluru’s civic infrastructure, alleging that despite spending Rs 1,200 crore on pothole repairs, the government had failed to address basic urban issues and was now seeking to rename Ramanagara as Bengaluru South to facilitate further land acquisitions.
The Union Minister alleged that Shivakumar had acquired vast extents of land over the years and accused him of intimidating landowners into parting with their properties. He recalled that Congress leaders themselves had opposed the acquisition of fertile agricultural land in 2006-07 and had spoken forcefully against such measures in the Assembly.
Kumaraswamy said he subsequently invited local residents to the Krishna office for consultations and eventually abandoned the township proposal after people firmly opposed it. He said he declined the Chief Minister’s invitation to discuss the matter at Vidhana Soudha, insisting that any discussion should take place before farmers.
He remarked that he was pained by the Chief Minister’s letter asking him to come with his team, questioning what that meant, and added that he did not maintain a four-member team; the people of Karnataka were his team, and he did not run gangs like others did.
In one of his strongest statements regarding CM Shivakumar, Kumaraswamy declared that they said they would send him to jail, but to do that, they would have to be born a hundred times over, and asked whether they went to Tihar Jail as freedom fighters.
Assuring farmers of his support, he said they need not spend even a single rupee on legal battles and pledged to stand firmly by them. Kumaraswamy further alleged that while government land near Eagleton had been valued at Rs 12 crore, farmers in the affected areas were being offered only around Rs 2 crore in compensation.
–IANS
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