JD(S) member gives linguistic turn to BBMP trifurcation

Says it would help Tamils and Telugus "gain dominance" in the city

Giving a linguistic twist to a bill to trifurcate the city civic body, a JD(S) member in Karnataka Legislative Council today opposed the move, saying it would help Tamils and Telugus "gain dominance" in the city.

E Krishnappa said currently, about 32 per cent of Kannadigas live in Bengaluru and if Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), is trifurcated, they would 'lose grounds' in some Tamil and Telugu-dominated areas.

"The proposed legislation aiming at trifurcating BBMP will help Tamil and Telugu people to regain their dominance and hold over Bengaluru city," Krishnappa said during a discussion on the bill, which has been passed by the Assembly.

He claimed that before the 1991 Cauvery riots in Bengaluru, it was easy for Kannadigas to "enter Pakistan", but not Tamil-dominated areas in the city.

Krishnappa further said that then, late Chief Minister S Bangarappa supported the cause of Kannadigas.

The JD(S) member said Kannadigas could gain dominance after Vatal Nagarj built a pro-Kannada party, which galvanised jobless and unemployed people from other parts of the state to migrate to Bengaluru in search of jobs.

Cauvery riots were triggered by the orders passed by the central government appointing the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, which in its interim award directed Karnataka government to release water to Tamil Nadu within a year.

The Bangarappa government annulled the tribunal's award but it was rejected by the Supreme Court. After the central government gazetted the award on December 11, 1991, next day Vatal Nagaraj called for a bandh on December 13 alleging the Centre's "partisan behaviour".

The JDS and BJP who command majority in the Council are opposing the bill on trifucation, saying it was nothing but a "ploy to postpone elections" to BBMP, controlled by the BJP.

Both parties are insisting on referring the bill to a select committee of the Council, but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has advised the opposition against it, saying it would set a precedent.

The government has convened a special session of legislature to pass the bill after it failed to get Governor's assent for an ordinance on trifurcation of the city civic body.