The Opposition BJP on Friday boycotted the first meeting of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), alleging that the meeting notice and agenda had been given to them very late. They said the meeting was scheduled to take up the issue of curtailing the powers of GBA’s elected body, much against the spirit of decentralisation.

Late notice

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, R. Ashok, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, alleged that the Opposition members had received the notice regarding the GBA meeting only on Friday morning, though it should have been given a week in advance as per norms. Similarly, they had been given the meeting agenda only four hours before the meeting. “How can we prepare for the meeting if the agenda is given so late?” he asked.

“The agenda of the meeting that proposes to curtail the powers of elected members of the GBA goes against the spirit of the 74th Amendment to the Constitution. This would mean that the government would play a dual role of adopting the resolutions at the GBA and then giving approval for them. This is detrimental to the interest of Bengaluru and spirit of decentralisation,” he alleged.

He maintained that the government had deliberately kept the agenda a secret till the meeting day to prevent any public debate on it.

Consultation with JD(S)

Mr. Ashok said the decision to boycott the GBA meeting had been taken in consultation with JD (S) leader and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. The BJP would not mind attending the GBA meetings if they take up issues related to Bengaluru city development, he said.

Accusing the government of forming the GBA in a hurry, he expressed concern that there was no dedicated halls to even hold the meetings of GBA or its corporations.

Similarly, the GBA was facing a shortage of over 4,000 personnel, including doctors and engineers, he said, and wondered if it would be possible for the new authority to function effectively with such a shortage in manpower.

BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra too took exception to the delayed information about the GBA meeting and accused the government of forming such a body without any preparations.

On ED seizures

Speaking about reports in a section of media that ED had seized cash to the tune of ₹300 crore that was allegedly meant to fund Bihar polls for the Congress, Mr. Ashok asked if one needed more proof to say that the Congress government in Karnataka was an “ATM for the Congress high command.”