Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 4 (ANI): Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday rejected BJP leader R Ashoka's claim that the state government withdrew the Parks Amendment Bill allowing limited use of public spaces, including parks, for infrastructure projects, not due to pressure from the Opposition.

While speaking with the media, Kharge said BJP leaders are overestimating themselves.

Neither does this government work on the whims and fancies of their decisions, nor do we have to bend backwards to listen to them. We passed a bill with respect to utilising land of public spaces, including parks, for government infrastructure, which has been done earlier in previous governments also across the state. So we have gotten a bill limiting the land usage for that. And we wanted to debate this in the assembly, but they just refused to. We begged, we pleaded, we tried to reason them out. There are bills, there are issues, there are farmer issues; why don't we debate it in the assembly? They just refused to let the house run,' he said. 

His remarks come after the state government on Thursday withdrew the proposed Parks Amendment Bill for now and will reintroduce it in the next Assembly session after placing it in the public domain for discussion and consultation.

He said Chief Minister DK Shivakumar considered the Bill important and believed that it required a wider debate.

'So today we have withdrawn that Bill in the Cabinet, and we are representing it in the Assembly for a debate. We are not changing one full stop, one comma in the Bill. We are ready to debate. If the public comes up with good suggestions, we will adopt them,' he said.

Kharge maintained that the Bill had not been withdrawn because of the BJP's agitation and said the government would present it again for discussion. 

On the broader issue of public spaces and infrastructure, Kharge said the matter was not limited to Bengaluru but was a statewide issue that required public discussion. Referring to parks and other public spaces, he said development requirements also included roads, flyovers, highways and other infrastructure.

He said the objective was to assess the ramifications of a Bill, scheme or policy at an early stage and incorporate positive suggestions before implementation.

Kharge also defended the need for infrastructure projects, including the proposed tunnel road, and challenged the Opposition to suggest alternatives if it opposed projects such as the tunnel road or steel flyover.

Referring to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's remarks on the need for a tunnel road in Bengaluru,

'We are ready to debate. We are ready to deliberate. We are ready to correct ourselves if there is any mistake,' he said.

On questions about GDP data, Kharge criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre. He alleged that the government had started from a higher base and was consequently showing higher GDP growth, while claiming that the actual growth was around 2.6 to 2.8 per cent.

He questioned India's position on poverty and purchasing power and said that when an economic adviser to the government itself raises such issues, there was a need to examine the system and the narrative around the data.

On the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer for the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and questions raised by the Samajwadi Party and Congress, Kharge said the issue should be examined from the perspective of transparency and accountability.

He questioned whether the presence of government officials in the Trust necessarily meant that the institution was free from allegations of corruption and said the matter was one that the public needed clarity on. He said the government should be transparent and ready to discuss questions concerning the Trust and the use of public resources.

Kharge also responded to questions concerning the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment controversy and criticism. Kharge said the Karnataka Public Service Commission has the authority to issue and withdraw notifications and argued that decisions concerning recruitment must be taken according to the established process.

He said the government had not received the relevant inquiry report when the issue was initially being raised and that the report was received only in February 2026.

He said the matter had subsequently gone before the High Court and that the government was awaiting the court's decision. (ANI)