Assembly witnesses blame the game as the origin of the Kasturirangan message

BY Vijayendra Photo Credit: File Photo

Although cross-party members in the Assembly stressed the need to launch a united fight to save people’s livelihoods in view of the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) notification issued by the Center on the basis of the Kasturirangan report, the House witnessed a political blame game on the origin of the report.

During the debate on the Kasturirangan report, ruling Congress members, including minister Eshwar B Khandre and members AS Ponnann and Beluru Gopalakrishna, sought to point out that the draft notification for the ESA declaration was issued by the NDA government at the Centre.

Special package

While Mr. Khandre, who earlier held the Forest portfolio, demanded that the Center should announce a special package for affected areas as it had issued a draft notification, Mr. Ponnanna expressed concern that the Center (NDA government) did not bother to revise the draft even though the state had raised objections six times.

Taking exception to the NDA government allegedly portraying itself in a bad light, BJP member BY Vijayendra launched a counter-attack by arguing that it was the former UPA government led by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that set up the Madhav Gadgil Committee to look into the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region.

“Though there was no order from either the Supreme Court or the National Green Tribunal, the then Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh constituted such a committee. This committee identified large tracts of land as ESAs, on the basis of which the Kasturirangan Committee was formed. The former UPA government is responsible for the current draft of the ESA notification,” he said. He warned that merely blaming the Center would not help Karnataka get justice.

Accusing Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa of publicly politicizing the issue, he said the minister had taken to the streets to “provoke” people against the Centre.

Take the trust

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar intervened at this point and tried to pacify Mr. Vijayendra by saying that the minister’s action was not to protest the Centre, but to send a message to the affected people that the government would stand by them. “I myself went to the affected districts and conducted public consultations,” he said.

He claimed that the main purpose of convening the special session to discuss the Kasturirangana report was to gain confidence from the opposition.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vijayendra sought to refute Congress member Beluru Gopalakrishna’s earlier allegation that BY Raghavendra, Shivamogga MP, did not attend all 11 meetings called by relevant authorities in connection with the Kasturirangan report. He called on the member of Congress to either produce evidence to prove his allegations or retract them.

Published – 22 Sep 2026 0:38 IST