'Welcome to Bengaluru, but…': Karnataka minister accuses BJP of ‘credit hijack’ of metro ahead of PM Modi's visit

He accused BJP MPs of failing to advocate for Karnataka's interests and alleged credit theft ahead of PM Modi's inauguration of the line.

Updated on: Aug 10, 2025, 12:05:21 IST

By HT News Desk

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Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bengaluru to inaugurate the Yellow Line of Namma Metro, Karnataka IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge accused the BJP of “credit hijacking” and neglecting the state’s interests.

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In a post on X, Kharge welcomed the Prime Minister to Karnataka but alleged that the BJP was attempting to shift the narrative from “vote theft” (#VoteChori) to “credit theft” (#CreditChori) over the Phase 2 Yellow Line project. He asserted that the Metro initiative was launched during the UPA regime under then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, with the Centre then contributing a significant share of costs in Phase 1.

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“After the BJP came to power, their commitment dwindled,” Kharge wrote, claiming that the Central Government’s share of funding dropped sharply in later phases. According to him, the Karnataka Government has borne the lion’s share of the Yellow Line costs, over ₹12,000 crore, including land acquisition and additional expenses, while the Centre contributed only around ₹8,000 crore.

“This lack of support forced BMRCL to take loans to meet the remaining costs,” Kharge alleged, calling the Yellow Line a prime example of the growing imbalance between Karnataka’s contributions to the Union Government and the returns it receives.

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The Minister also took a swipe at BJP MPs from Karnataka, accusing them of “bending backwards to appease their political masters” instead of standing up for the state’s interests, “especially after the fiasco with Trump.”

PM Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the 19.15-km Yellow Line connecting RV Road to Bommasandra on Saturday morning, a project expected to benefit lakhs of daily commuters in Bengaluru’s southern corridor.

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