Kumaraswamy Accuses Congress of ‘Looting’ Bengaluru Homeowners Through B-Khata Scheme

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy unleashed a scathing assault on the Congress-led Karnataka government’s B-khata to A-khata conversion program, labeling it a fraudulent money-making scheme designed to loot Bengaluru’s property owners. Addressing a charged-up crowd on Saturday, the JDS heavyweight declared that citizens should refuse to pay even a single rupee for the so-called regularization process. He vowed that once the JDS-BJP alliance storms to power in the 2027 Assembly elections, every pending khata conversion will be completed at negligible cost within the first two years of governance.

Drawing from his tenure as Chief Minister in 2007, Kumaraswamy reminded the audience of a massive ₹25,000 crore urban renewal blueprint crafted for Bengaluru and Mysuru under a Central government initiative. That plan had already established transparent, affordable khata conversion fees, he said, only for the process to be derailed by litigation. “The High Court mandated khatas within 15 days—yet BBMP and successive governments have been illegally collecting premiums ever since,” he thundered. “Now they’re rebranding the same extortion as ‘rectification’ under the sixth guarantee? This is nothing but organized daylight robbery targeting middle-class homeowners.”

Kumaraswamy brushed aside the Congress’s attempt to inflame the RSS ban controversy, calling it a deliberate smokescreen to divert attention from administrative failures. “Banning organizations won’t fill potholes, supply Cauvery water, or resolve khata nightmares,” he asserted. “First deliver basic governance—then lecture on ideology.” He also countered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s taunt that he “never demands funds from Modi,” recounting how he personally mobilized resources to construct 1,000 flood-relief homes in Kodagu without waiting for Central aid. “They lack both competence and courage,” he charged.

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In a sharp retort to Deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s dare to “build one factory and we’ll grant permission,” Kumaraswamy highlighted his Compete with China industrial vision, which established nine specialized clusters and earmarked ₹25,000 crore in subsidies—a roadmap scuttled when the Congress toppled his government. “That man has zero moral authority for a public debate,” he dismissed. Shivakumar, undeterred, fired back that the government stands ready to acquire land anywhere Kumaraswamy identifies if he delivers investments. He defended B-khata transfers as a pro-people sixth guarantee and challenged the opposition to boycott elections if they truly oppose the Gruha Bhagya Abhiyan (GBA).

Separately, all five Electricity Supply Companies (ESCOMs) announced a 15-hour complete shutdown of online services from 8 PM on October 27 to 11 AM on October 28 to execute critical system maintenance and upgrades. Consumers will be unable to pay bills, apply for new connections, request name transfers, or change tariffs through Bescom, Hescom, Gescom, Mescom, and Cescom portals, the Bescom Mitra app, or integrated platforms like Bengaluru One and Karnataka One. The energy department appealed for public cooperation, urging users to settle dues in advance to avoid last-minute inconvenience during the planned outage.

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