Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has responded to allegations that he asked apartment residents to vote for his brother DK Suresh in exchange for water supply. He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) are making these allegations to divert people's attention. DK Shivakumar made the statement while speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence in Bengaluru on Tuesday, April 16.
The Deputy Chief Minister on April 7 had participated in several meetings with voters in residential societies such as Prestige, Divinity Sattva Apartments, Sobha Apartments and Vaastu Hill View Apartments in RR Nagar. He was speaking while campaigning for his brother DK Suresh, the Congress candidate from Bangalore Rural and said, “I know the builders here, I can assure that until the flats are handed over to you and fulfil your needs, we will not issue the occupancy certificate. But I have a condition, all of you have to come together for DK Suresh, whoever didn’t come today you need to talk to them as well, the 1500 votes you guys are talking about need to be guaranteed to him as we are giving you the assurance.”
DK Shivakumar goes on to say that there is a special water supply being given to water scarce areas and only he knows how much water is being supplied to these areas such as Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Anekal and Bengaluru south. “Everyone in Bengaluru needs to be helped since 7000 borewells have gone dry,” he added.
DK Shivakumar also spoke on the importance of conscious voting as it is a fundamental right and duty of every citizen. He said that the country needs change and a government that prioritises the welfare of the people. The residents had raised concerns about a congested road in Rajarajeshwari Nagar due to a temple and the Minister responded saying “he did not want to invite Lord Ganesha’s curse by getting his temple shifted for road widening.” Instead, he suggested exploring alternatives like constructing a tunnel road to address the traffic issue while preserving the temple.