NICE war: Why Shivakumar cannot afford to ignore Kumaraswamy’s claims. The NICE Road controversy is fast turning into a war primarily between Union minister HD Kumaraswamy and DK Shivakumar, one which the chief minister can ill afford to brush aside as another political attack. Kumaraswamy is not merely questioning the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project; he is linking alleged changes in the project, land transactions and properties in Bengaluru to Shivakumar and his family.