Bengaluru: Senior BJP leader and former corporator Padmanabha Reddy has launched a scathing attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, terming the formation of Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE) as nothing short of a “democratic assassination”.
In a strongly worded statement, Reddy questioned the legitimacy of creating B-SMILE — a company vested with the powers to execute major infrastructure projects in Bengaluru — at the cost of sidelining the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city’s constitutionally mandated local government body.
“The state government has scrapped BBMP’s powers, formed the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and now created this B-SMILE company to bypass the elected corporators and mayors who have governed the city since 1949. This move mirrors the East India Company model of British rule,” Reddy said.
He accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s government of showing zero faith in elected municipal representatives, instead handing over administrative control of B-SMILE to bureaucrats. The company is headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development as Chairperson, with the BBMP Commissioner as Managing Director, and includes a host of IAS officers and department heads as directors.
“Under which article of the Constitution does the state government have the power to vest municipal governance in officers rather than elected representatives?” Reddy asked, urging the government to uphold the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which mandates devolution of powers to local bodies.
He expressed concern that major civic works — roads, flyovers, stormwater drains, lake rejuvenation, white-topping roads — are now being handled by B-SMILE, bypassing public accountability and elected representation.
Reddy demanded the immediate rollback of B-SMILE’s powers and restoration of authority to the BBMP, warning that continued disregard for constitutional principles would lead to legal and political resistance.
