Magadi MLA and Congress leader H.C. Balakrishna on Tuesday slammed Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, accusing them of selectively opposing the proposed Bidadi Township Project while remaining silent on similar land acquisition exercises across the State. 

Speaking to presspersons in Bengaluru, Mr. Balakrishna questioned why Mr. Kumaraswamy was protesting only in Bidadi despite land acquisition being carried out for various projects in places such as Sarjapur, Chickballapur, Hosakote, and Doddaballapur. He also pointed to the acquisition of 1,800 acres in Hassan (Mr. Kumaraswamy’s hometown) for a proposed IIT campus even before receiving final approval from the Centre.

Expressing reservations over Mr. Kumaraswamy’s demand to hold a discussion regarding the project in Bidadi or Bairamangala, he said that it could lead to fights between the JD(S) and the Congress workers, as such a meeting could attract large crowds from both sides, creating law and order concerns.

The MLA further alleged that the farmers’ agitation had now acquired a political dimension and accused the JD(S) leadership of mobilising supporters from Mandya, Mysuru, and other regions to strengthen the protest. He claimed that the movement was being used to target Mr. Shivakumar politically rather than address farmers’ concerns.

However, the protesting farmers in Bidadi accused Mr. Balakrishna of not having visited any of the villages coming under the project in the last one year despite being the local MLA.