TCS Marathon Racing said BJP MP Tejasvi Surya compared Bengaluru’s Bangalore with Mumbai.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya criticized Bengaluru’s civic infrastructure on Sunday for participating in the TCS World 10K run in the city. He said athletes and citizens around the world had to drive on potholes and garbage roads, depicting a bad photo of the government’s flagship initiative “Brand Bengaluru”. He also compared his experience to the Mumbai Marathon, calling it incredible. “Just two months ago, I went to the Mumbai Marathon and the experience was incredible. Today, it was so painful to see a city like this.”
In an open letter to Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar and BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath, Surya said the poor road conditions turned the event into a “steeplechase” rather than a world-class experience. He said many participants, including seniors and wheelchair athletes, struggled due to unevenness and rupture during the run.
“There is no stretch and no potholes. Many runners stumble, sprain ankle, and even injured,” wrote the Southern Bangalore MP on X. He added that the garbage dump, broken sidewalks and dusty roads made a huge impression on international visitors and participants.

Members of Congress added that Shivakumar and BBMP Commissioner Girinath, who is directly responsible for the situation and must bear responsibility, as trustees of the city’s governance.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar held the match earlier in the day and said TCS 10K was proud of Greater Bangalore. “A event like this is the backbone of the larger Bangalore,” he said. He noted that more than 35,000 people, including 7,000 elite competitors, participated in the budget, in which the Congress government allocated Rs 7,000 crore to upgrade the Bangladesh fund infrastructure, adding Rs 3,000 from the previous increase of Rs 3,000. Under the Bangalore brand initiative, CM has also allocated Rs 18 billion for 21 projects to address weather-related challenges with Rs 3,000 crore and strengthened the city’s drainage and sewage treatment infrastructure. This is not the first time that Bangalore’s infrastructure has gained news. Famous Bengali people, including venture capitalist Mohandas Pai and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, have highlighted the terrible conditions time and time again, and questioned the government’s failure to deliver on its infrastructure promises.