Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa says he will allot medical college to Kanakapura

BENGALURU: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa offered to fulfil senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar’s long-cherished dream of a medical college in Kanakapura, even while laying a foundation stone for a medical college in Chikkaballapura, the constituency of a disqualified MLA on Friday.
At a rally in Veerapura, Ramanagar district, Yediyurappa said the government will sanction a medical college in Kanakapura, Shivakumar’s constituency.The CM’s assurance came after Shivakumar’s brother and Bengaluru rural MP DK Suresh, who was present, urged the CM to sanction a medical college for the constituency.
Yediyurappa raised eyebrows when he said, “Shivakumar is my good friend and the government will allot a new medical college to Kanakapura soon.”
Yediyurappa had kicked off a row when he cancelled the medical college sanctioned to Kanakapura by the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition government and shifted it to Chikkaballapura, the constituency of disqualified MLA K Sudhakar.
Accusing Yediyurappa of indulging in vendetta politics, Shivakumar had threatened to sit on an indefinite dharna at Vidhana Soudha, to press home his demand to restore the coalition government’s decision.
Still, the CM, later on Friday, laid a foundation stone for a medical college in Chikkaballapura. The college will be built at an estimated Rs 610 crore. “We will complete construction in two years,” the CM said.
Yediyurappa, who was campaigning in Chikkabalapura for the second time in less than a week, said the government will consider setting up a grape processing factory in the area to help grape growers.
He also lauded the efforts of Sudhakar in getting all clearances for the medical college quickly and complimented the disqualified MLA on allocating 5,500 sites for houses for people of his segment. “Sudhakar is a man with a vision, who believes in the principle of more work and less talk,” Yediyurappa said.