Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol on Thursday, 6 August sharply condemned the removal of street vendors in Bengaluru by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) under the 'Safe Footpath Campaign', drawing a pointed parallel with the 1976 Turkman Gate demolitions in Delhi and alleging that the Karnataka Congress government was crushing the livelihoods of lakhs of poor families.

The Campaign and Its Context

The Karnataka government launched the 'Safe Footpath Campaign' on 1 July this year to clear footpath encroachments across Bengaluru. Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has maintained that nearly 300 pedestrians lose their lives annually in road accidents because encroached footpaths force them onto roads. The minister clarified that the drive was being carried out in compliance with Supreme Court directives and in response to sustained demands from city residents for safe, accessible footpaths. The state government also promised relocation support and organised pushcarts for registered vendors — though vendor unions have strongly opposed what they describe as sudden, disruptive evictions.

Karjol's Turkman Gate Comparison

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Karjol said the treatment of Bengaluru's street vendors brought to mind the 1976 Turkman Gate incident, when approximately 25,000 houses were demolished by bulldozers under the leadership of Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency, leaving lakhs of families homeless. 'The country has never forgotten the injustice committed then. Today, the atrocities being carried out by the Karnataka Congress government against street vendors in Bengaluru are causing similar pain,' he said. The comparison is a charged one — Turkman Gate remains one of the most contested episodes of the Emergency era and is frequently invoked in Indian political discourse to signal state overreach against the urban poor.

Scale of Impact, According to BJP

Karjol alleged that nearly 2.5 lakh street vendor families have been pushed into distress and that around 10 lakh people stand to lose their livelihoods as a result of the campaign. He also accused the Congress of remembering Dalits, the poor, and backward communities only during elections. 'The Congress remembers the poor, Dalits and backward classes only when it needs votes. The government must introspect,' he said. He directly questioned former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, and Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan on why they had not spoken out against the alleged harassment.

Centre's PM SVANidhi Scheme Cited

Karjol highlighted the Centre's PM SVANidhi scheme — launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend institutional credit to street vendors — as a counter-model. He claimed that more than 75 lakh street vendors nationwide have received loans worth over ₹17,800 crore under the scheme, with nearly 60 per cent of beneficiaries being women, many from farming families who sell produce in cities. In Karnataka specifically, he said around 3 lakh beneficiaries have availed assistance under the scheme. He added that approximately 50 per cent of all PM SVANidhi beneficiaries belong to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.

Warning and Demands

Karjol warned of political consequences if the alleged harassment continues, saying the poor, labourers, and marginalised communities would respond through democratic means. He urged the Karnataka government to immediately halt the eviction drive, protect vendor livelihoods, and extend administrative and financial support to those displaced. The BJP's intervention signals that the street vendor issue is set to become a flashpoint in Karnataka's already fractious political environment, with the ruling Congress yet to formally respond to the party's specific allegations.