Gautam Adani’s ‘courtesy visit’ to Shivakumar triggers BJP attack over Bengaluru tunnel road

On Sunday, a meeting took place between Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Gautam Adani, CEO of the Adani Group. This encounter sparked controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging the meeting was connected to the company's bid for the proposed tunnel road project in Bengaluru. Shivakumar, during his response to journalists, described the meeting as a 'courtesy visit' following his assumption of the chief minister role.

Opposition leaders, however, questioned the timing of the meeting, pointing to Adani's status as the lowest bidder for the tunnel road project. R Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, claimed that the Congress government is granting away the city's parks through a new law enabling the diversion of five percent of park land for private commercial purposes, potentially benefiting Adani.

He alleged that Shivakumar's meeting with the Adani chairman is linked to this development, suggesting it would facilitate the construction of a tunnel road through the Lalbagh garden in Bengaluru.

The Karnataka government recently approved a Bill to amend the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) Act, 1975, which permits up to five percent of public park land to be diverted for public infrastructure. This Bill was introduced in the Assembly on Monday. Ashoka's criticism was echoed by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who challenged the project in the Karnataka High Court and criticized the proposed alignment's impact on the Lalbagh Botanical Garden.

The Adani Group emerged as the lowest bidder for both packages of the tunnel road project, with its combined bid of Rs 22,267 crore significantly higher than the government estimate for both packages.