Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar under fire over his reported remarks on Bengaluru traffic; BJP says, 'No surprises here!'

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 21 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has come under fire over his remarks that "even God can't fix the Bengaluru traffic" problem.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi questioned the state government's performance in the 15 months since coming to power.
"...BJP never said Bengaluru should be transformed in a matter of a night, but the state government should explain what has been done in the past 1.5 years..." he told ANI.
Speaking at a BBMP event in Bengaluru on Thursday, DK Shivakuamr said, "I would like to say one thing to you and media people that within one year, two years, three years, even if God comes, can not do anything to Bengaluru (roads) we have to plan properly."
Reacting to his remarks, Karnataka BJP President and MLA Shikaripura Assembly Constituency, Vijayendra Yediyurappa, said, "Under this government, Bengaluru's infrastructure has collapsed, turning our once-thriving landscape into an absolute eyesore."

Shameful that it took a whole TWO years for @DKShivakumar to finally admit what every Bangalorean already knew—that they won’t be able to fix the city’s issues for at least another three years, even if God Himself descended to help!

No surprises here! We've been saying from day… pic.twitter.com/Hm89lHsvPr

— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) February 21, 2025

"No surprises here! We've been saying from day one that this @INCKarnataka government has utterly derailed Bengaluru's infrastructure growth and development," he said in a post on social media.

The BJP leader also shared the speech of DK Shivakumar.

BJP leader CN Ashwath Narayan alleged that Bengaluru is bearing the brunt of the alleged bickering between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, accusing the
"In the Congress govt in the state of Karnataka, Bengaluru has got the lowest priority. Perhaps the main reason for this is that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are fighting against each other. Because of the fight between these two people, Bengaluru is suffering. Bengaluru is not getting any funds from the state government," he said.
He added, "The Chief Minister is making sure that as long as DK Shivakumar is the Bengaluru Development Minister, he wants to make sure that there is no development in Bengaluru. So because of their fight, Bengaluru is suffering,"
The BJP leader also attacked the government and highlighted the deteriorating law and rider situation in the state.
"Law and order is bad, there is no development... Electricity bills have increased, stamp duty increased. Bus fares have increased, metro fares have increased, and milk prices have increased. Everything has increased. They are taking money from Bengaluru but Bengaluru is not getting anything...," he alleged.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwara defended the Deputy CM saying that DK Shivakumar was looking at several alternative for Bengaluru but such projects take time.
"Bengaluru was not built for such a huge population and a large number of vehicles... We don't have an infrastructure for that. Unless we spread out Bangalore, traffic is always going to be a challenge in the city. Our Minister in charge, DK Shivakumar, is looking at many alternatives, one of which is going underground... But these (projects) can not be a short-term measure. It will take a long time," he said. (ANI)