Bengaluru: A light‑hearted yet pointed exchange took place in the Karnataka Assembly when Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar responded to BJP MLA Munirathna’s query about the stalled construction of the Bettadasanapura Metro Station.
Munirathna had questioned why the project was dropped after real estate developer Embassy Group allegedly failed to contribute funds. In reply, Shivakumar quipped that if Munirathna were to finance the station himself, he would gladly name it “Munirathna and Company Metro Station.”
Explaining the funding model, Shivakumar said Bengaluru allows corporations to have their names on metro stations if they fund construction through CSR contributions — a practice recently praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He cited examples like Infosys contributing ₹200 crore for a station bearing its name.
Shivakumar pointed out that Embassy had agreed to pay ₹120 crore for the ₹140‑crore Bettadasanapura station, but had only given ₹1 crore so far. He alleged Munirathna’s interest stemmed from his 70–80 acres of land nearby.
Munirathna countered that the DCM could easily secure the funds if he called the builder, claiming developers in the city respond only to Shivakumar. Opposition leader R. Ashoka joined in, saying Munirathna merely wanted the DCM to pressure Embassy to pay the remaining ₹119 crore.
Shivakumar retorted that he had no intention of issuing threats, suggesting instead that the agreement could be cancelled and Munirathna allowed to fund — and name — the station himself. He contrasted local MLA Krishna Byre Gowda’s public‑interest requests with Munirathna’s private‑interest push.
