Kumaraswamay puts on a brave face despite outrage

Kumaraswamay puts on a brave face despite outrage
DH News Service, Bangalore:
The JD(S) seems to have learnt no lessons from the monstrous gridlock its rally caused in the City on Monday.


Instead of atoning for paralysing life and heaping misery on thousands of schoolchildren, office-goers, travellers and the general public, the party’s State president H D Kumaraswamy tried to brazen out things.
Responding to the public outcry, he said Bangaloreans have over-reacted to the traffic jam.

“Citizens in Bangalore enjoy better facilities. They do not understand the agony of village folks. Children in villages walk six to seven km to reach their schools. But here (in Bangalore) people create so much fuss when their children come late by an hour,” he stated at a press conference.

He said: “People who have reacted strongly against the rally do not vote. First, they have to realise their duty in a democracy. The same people do not find any problem when traffic gets clogged due to a music concert.”
He said the party had informed the police about the rally a week in advance and had paid money towards providing security. Hence, it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that there was no inconvenience. He said the party chose to hold the rally on Monday instead of on a Sunday as farmers do not go to the fields on Monday.

Govt wakes up

For its part, the government finally seems to have woken up after leaving citizens to the mercy of politicians and their hordes.

Home Minister V S Acharya said the government was likely to impose curbs on the venue, timing and renting of government vehicles during political rallies.

He said the government would issue guidelines regarding parking slots, the number of vehicles that can enter the city and the maximum number of buses that can he hired. Dr Acharya said the government was thinking of restricting rallies between 11 am and 3 pm so that vehicles could move out before the peak hours begin.
The City police were red-faced. Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari admitted: “The police failed in their judgment. More vehicles swarmed in than what the police had expected.”

But, according to Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic) Praveen Sood, the JD(S) workers and drivers threw traffic norms to the winds and drove around the City without a care in the world.

He too admitted that their calculations went awry. They were also hampered by lack of resources to tackle a crisis of such epic proportions, he said.

* City people over-reacted, says Kumaraswamy
* Blames government for the inconvenience
* Government likely to restrict rally timings between 11 am and 3 pm, says Home minister
* Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari admits to failure