Bengaluru, Dec 1 – Bangalore’s traffic crisis has gone straight to the headlines after Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Uttar Pradesh Rajeev Rai slammed the city’s traffic control as the worst in the country.
In response, Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Monday that he would meet Rai in Delhi and give him a firsthand look at the city’s traffic situation.
When the media asked Shivakumar to comment on Rai’s X post, which lambasted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he replied: “Okay. Let me meet him in Delhi. You (the media) tell him. I’ll meet him in Delhi and show him what the traffic there is like. I’ll also tag the post.”
MP Rajeev Rai, the SP National Secretary and spokesperson, also chairs the AVK Group of Institutions in Bangalore. He posted an X message on Sunday detailing his frustration with the city’s congestion, which quickly gained traction on Monday and sparked a wider debate over traffic governance.
In his tweet, Raí wrote: “CM of Karnataka, I am sorry but you have the worst traffic management and the most irresponsible, useless traffic police. They don’t even pick up phone calls. Here is the screenshot of my attempt to speak to them; none of them picked up my call. For the last one hour, we are stuck at the same place on Rajkumar Samadhi Road and are going to miss our flight. Tomorrow I have to attend the Parliament session. Not a single policeman is seen around.”
He added: “These inefficient officers are enough to spoil the name and charm of this beautiful city. No doubt Bengaluru traffic has now earned the reputation of being the most notorious.”
The post also tagged Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh and Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Karthik Reddy.
Earlier, Shivakumar faced backlash for remarking that “even god can’t fix Bengaluru’s traffic problems.” He defended the statement, saying: “I would like to say one thing to you and media people that within one year, two years, three years, even if God comes, nothing can be done to fix Bengaluru’s roads. We have to plan properly.”
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi of the BJP responded sharply, questioning the Congress-led state government’s record since taking office. He stated: “The BJP never said Bengaluru should be transformed overnight, but the state government should explain what has been done in the past 1.5 years.”
Shivakumar also dismissed criticism that IT firms threaten to pull out over traffic woes, asserting the state government is not being blackmailed.
mka/khz
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