‘Appeasement politics’ of Congress will deny houses to Kannadigas: BJP

The BJP on Monday accused the Congress in Karnataka of indulging in “appeasement policies”, citing the decision to allot houses to what they described as “migrants from Bangladesh” in the Kogilu Layout in Bengaluru, alleging that Kannadigas were not given houses.

Speaking on the motion of thanks on the Governor’s speech in the Legislative Assembly, Leader of Opposition R. Ashok said the “vote bank politics” of the Congress poses a threat to national security and deprives eligible families in the State of housing benefits. He stated that more than 37 lakh housing applications are pending before the Karnataka Housing Board and many applicants have paid significant advances.

Mr. Ashok alleged that instead of allocating houses to residents of the state, the government was rushing to provide houses to Muslims, who he claimed had “migrated from Bangladesh” and were living in temporary shelters in Kogilu Layout. He alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had initially advocated the evacuation of families from the area citing land reserved for waste management by the Greater Bengaluru Authority, later reversed the decision after a phone call from AICC general secretary KC Venugopal.

According to Mr. Ashok, this issue was used by political leaders in Kerala and some sections of Pakistani media to tarnish the image of Karnataka.

He also accused the government of adopting “double standards”, stating that it was not willing to provide housing for families displaced by demolitions in the city’s Cantonment area.

The BJP leader also alleged that migrants from Bangladesh were working for lower wages in coffee plantations in Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts, claiming that the plantation owners preferred migrant workers at ₹300 per day compared to ₹1,000 demanded by local workers. He also alleged that some anti-social elements were enabling illegal use of Aadhaar cards for migrants, which were then used to access public benefits.

Mr. Ashok demanded strict action and called for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to be identified and deported from the country.