Many people didn’t want the Kiss of Love event: Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah is currently facing a lot of flak for the government’s handling of the Kiss of Love protest against incidents of moral policing. The good news is that he has finally got the long-pending task of appointing chairpersons to boards and corporations out of the way. Despite discontent brewing in the Congress, incidents of rape and allegations of inefficiency and corruption against some ministers, Siddaramaiah tells TOI everything is hunky-dory.
Why has the Congress, which opposed moral policing, denied permission to the Kiss of Love event after initially agreeing to it?
I initially said the event can go on as long as it’s not obscene and there’s no vulgarity involved. Our culture does not permit such vulgarity. But there were several representations from organizations and women who didn’t want it. As for moral policing, the maximum was done in Mangaluru during the BJP’s tenure.
Do you think Bengaluru’s image has taken a drubbing in the past couple of years?
All the promises which the previous BJP government made of improving the city have remained only on paper. In its five-year term, they did nothing to improve roads or created any infrastructure.
How will Bengaluru’s garbage problem be resolved?
By June, there will be waste processing plants in all areas which will convert garbage into gas or manure. I had set a deadline of December 1 to stop dumping of garbage in Mandur and this was done 10 days ahead of it. The government has thought of giving a new look to Bengaluru and some of it has been spelt out in the new industrial policy for 2014-2019.