Siddaramaiah Was Scared, I Would Have Gone Ahead: DKS on Bengaluru Steel Flyover Project

In a hard-hitting statement, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said he would not have bowed down under public pressure like his boss Siddaramaiah to stop the controversial Steel Flyover project if he was at the helm of affairs.

Shivakumar said various stakeholders have asked him to consider building tunnels and flyovers in the city.

"In the previous Siddaramaiah govt, they wanted to build a steel bridge, but there was a massive uproar over it. At that time Siddaramaiah got scared and backed down from the project. If it was me, I would not have budged and gone ahead with the project," Shivakumar said.

"Many people suggest the construction of tunnels and flyovers in the state," he added.

The comment has once again put focus the fragile peace holding the Karnataka Congress government together.

Karnataka election results were announced on May 13, in which Congress emerged victorious. It took four days for the Congress high command in Delhi to break the deadlock and choose a leader for the CM post between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

Siddaramaiah, the now chief minister, and state Congress president Shivakumar were in stiff competition with each other to assume the top post.

In March 2017, Karnataka government-led by Siddaramaiah scrapped the controversial Bengaluru steel flyover, bowing to pressure from citizens and green activists project.

The project was aimed at decongesting the road that connects the city with its international airport and surrounding areas.

The Rs 1,800-crore project faced stiff opposition from citizen groups over environmental concerns and doubts over its sustainability model. They claimed that the project would lead to decrease in the green cover of garden city as it might lead to uprooting hundreds of trees in the area.