Bengaluru: As Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on the state tour today, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took a dig at him, posing several questions to him.
The CM urged the home minister not to commit injustices to against Karnataka. And advised him to refrain from deceiving the Kannadigas, avoid undermining the Kannada language, and do not disturb the state’s peace and tranquility.
He also demanded him to seek votes by presenting union government’s achievements to the people. That could at least bring a respectable defeat. Otherwise, if he resort to unfair means in the elections, the outcome of the previous Assembly Elections will surely be repeated in the Lok Sabha elections as well, he said.
Siddaramaiah lashed out at Home Minister Amit Shah for not releasing compensation for drought relief.
In a press release, Siddaramaiah said that due to the shortage of rain, 223 taluks in the state have been officially declared drought-affected, with an estimated loss of around ₹33,770 crore, according to a state government assessment.
“Of this, we have raised a demand for a minimum compensation of ₹17,901 crore from the Centre. For this, we wrote letter after letter, met with the Prime Minister as well as you, the chairman of the High Power Committee for Drought Relief, but no compensation has been provided yet. Why do you have such animosity towards Karnataka and Kannadigas?” he questioned.
The CM said that Shah had assured him that a meeting of the high-powered committee would be called within a week, last September, but months have passed since then. Shah neither called the meeting nor provided drought relief, the CM alleged.
Siddaramaiah said the state is not witnessing injustice for the first time. In 2017, Karnataka faced a drought leading to an estimated loss of ₹30,000 crore, yet the Union Government provided only ₹1,435 crore in relief. In contrast, Maharashtra received ₹8,195 crore and Gujarat ₹3,894 crore the same year.
Even when the BJP was in power in Karnataka in 2019, no compensation was provided for the damages caused by excessive rainfall. “Are you offended by Kannadigas for never allowing the BJP to come to power on its own?” he questioned.
He charged that the pride of Karnataka’s coastal farmers, Vijaya Bank, was swallowed by the Bank of Baroda of Gujarat. “The ports and airports built through the efforts of Congress leaders were taken over by Gujarat’s businessman Adani. Are you seeing Kannadigas as the enemies of Gujaratis?” he asked.
The CM also reminded the chief minister that the Kannadigas haven’t forgotten the attempt to merge Kannadigas pride, KMF, with Gujarat’s Amul. “During the BJP’s tenure in the state, weren’t you the one who made Nandini products disappear from the market to glorify Amul products everywhere? When proud Kannadigas across Karnataka stood up to save Nandini, wasn’t it true that you had no choice but to abandon your ill intentions?” the CM asked the Home Minister.
“Home Minister Amit Shah avare, before seeking votes in Karnataka, please respond to the questions of the Kannadigas. We do not oppose any language in the world, but we believe that Kannada should be given primacy in its own land. Despite sending the Kannada flag design to the Union Government for approval six years ago, there has been no approval. Why do you oppose the Kannada flag?” the CM asked.
Holding Amit Shah responsible for not realizing the demand of Kannadigas for the inclusion of Kannada as a medium of instruction in recruitment exams for all Union Government-owned institutions, including nationalized banks and the Railway Department. Many young Kannadigas have been deprived of employment opportunities due to this lack of provision, he said.
Siddaramaiah accused the Home Minister of repeatedly imposing Hindi on Kannadigas by falsely claiming it to be the national language. “Has the Constitution ever declared Hindi as the national language? If so, in which section is it mentioned?” the CM asked him to furnish the details.
The CM asked Amit Shah to seek votes based on the achievements of the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre. But he lacks the guts to acknowledge their mistakes.
“You don’t even have the decency not to spoil the peace and harmony of society for political gain. A former MP from Mysore has made an open statement that he is provoking riots as per your suggestion,” Siddaramaiah charged.
