Urban strategist and expert member Ashwin Mahesh’s resignation comes as a blow to chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, who has been fighting to continue in office.
Urban strategist and expert member Ashwin Mahesh resigned from the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development Task Force (ABIDe) on Sunday.
“There is no point in continuing. The government is involved in internal power struggle and not in good governance,” he told this newspaper.
Mahesh’s resignation comes as a blow to chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, who has been fighting to continue in office.
The resignation shocked Rajya Sabha member and convenor of ABIDe Rajiv Chandrasekhar and the chief minister’s advisor on urban issues, Dr A Ravindra.
“Some members of ABIDe have expressed their desire to quit, but I have not received anything formal or in writing. It’s mostly in anger and dismay over the recent allegations of corruption in Bangalore,” Chandrasekhar replied to an e-mail query.
Dr Ravindra said over the phone that the recent developments were disappointing. “This power struggle is debilitating and puts a spoke in the wheel. It’s not good for the state. I will wait a couple of days before taking a definite step.”
Mahesh said he was also disappointed with the government sitting on the Bengaluru Region Governance Act - 2009 (Draft). The bill was meant to “reinvent Bengaluru,” as the chief minister had said in the ABIDe preamble.
Many prominent ABIDe members confided to this newspaper that they were disappointed with the government that does not appear to have a grip on the statecraft. RK Mishra, a member of ABIDe who co-authored the infrastructure development strategy of Bangalore, has been mulling over giving up the position if the situation does not steady soon.
Chief minister Yeddyurappa is the chairman of ABIDe, and Ananth Kumar, its vice-chairman.
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