Priyank Kharge accuses BJP of ‘hijacking’ credit for Yellow Line

Karnataka rural development minister Priyank Kharge on Sunday, 10 August, criticised BJP for "hijacking" the credit for Yellow Line Phase 2, stating that Karnataka government shouldered the bulk of the expenses, contributing over Rs 12,000 crore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Bengaluru on Sunday to inaugurate the much-awaited Yellow Line of Bangalore Metro and the Vande Bharat Express train between Bengaluru and Belagavi. He is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the Bangalore Metro Phase-3 project.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Kharge said, "The Metro project was launched under the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh. In the first phase, the UPA government bore a significant portion of the cost, outpacing the state government's contribution," he wrote.

According to him, after BJP came to power, their commitment to the project dwindled, with the central government's share decreasing drastically in subsequent phases.

"The Karnataka government has shouldered the bulk of the expenses, contributing over Rs 12,000 crore, covering land acquisition costs and additional expenses," he added.

The central government only provided Rs 8,000 crore for the project, he pointed out.

"This lack of support forced BMRCL to take loans to cover the remaining project costs. While Karnataka's contributions to the Centre continue to grow year after year, the returns to the state diminish, and the Yellow Line project is a glaring example of this," said Kharge.

Meanwhile, speaking to PTI Videos, Tejasvi Surya, MP of Bengaluru South, insisted that the PM "pushed for public infrastructure in Bengaluru", stating that between the Yellow Line and the proposed Orange Line that the PM is laying the foundation stone for on Sunday, 18 lakh commuters will benefit.

"But Congress tries to take credit for all the things in which they don't have any role. You may have seen recently, Congress tried to take credit for even the IPL victory," said Surya.

The credit for the success of it goes to the people of Bengaluru, nobody else, he added.