CM Kumaraswamy Proposes Declaring Belagavi As Second Capital To Rein In Separate State Demand

Amid growing protests in the North Karnataka over ‘step-motherly’ treatment being meted out to the region by the JD(S)-Congress government in the state, Chief Minister (CM) H D Kumaraswamy has proposed declaring Belagavi as the second capital of Karnataka, Times of India has reported.

“The proposal to declare Belagavi the second capital of Karnataka has been pending since I became CM in 2006. However, subsequent governments did not consider the proposal. I will reconsider the proposal and deliberate on the feasibility of the matter,” the CM said.

He also said that several government departments will be shifted to the secretariat building in the city, the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (SVS). The 2006 proposal to declare Belagavi as the second proposal was passed by the then JD(S)-BJP government in the state.

Kumaraswamy also said that he will soon tour all the 13 districts in the North Karnataka region to understand the issues faced by the people. He also blamed the media for twisting his statements on the issue.

“When two-thirds of revenue generated from Bengaluru goes for development of the entire state, I sought to know from him how to find resources to develop a separate state. But these remarks were twisted by media to convey a different meaning,” Kumaraswamy said.

Deputy CM G Parameshwara asked him to restrain from blaming the media.

Several organisations under the umbrella of Uttara Karnataka Horata Samiti (UKHS) had called for a bandh on 2 August in the 13 North Karnataka districts demanding a separate state after Kumaraswamy allegedly said that the farmers in the region should be happy with the loan waiver despite not voting for JD(S).