Date : 23-04-2024
Bengaluru: Congress leaders staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue located in front of Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru on Tuesday, demanding the Union Government to release drought relief funds. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and AICC General Secretary Randeep Surjewala led the protest.
Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming that both harbor animosity towards Karnataka and its people. Despite numerous pleas for monetary assistance to combat severe drought, the Union Government has not released funds. Hence, to draw the attention of the country’s people, they staged a protest, he said.
He criticized the Union Government for making lame excuses to release drought relief funds. The state government had made a request in this regard on September 22, 2023, and later a central government team assessed the prevailing drought conditions and submitted a report. Meanwhile, a team led by Minister Krishna Byregowda and Priyank Kharge met the concerned minister and requested the immediate release of grants to tackle the drought conditions.
The state is experiencing an unprecedented drought, with 223 out of 240 taluks declared as drought-affected. However, Home Minister Amit Shah, while campaigning for JDS and BJP candidates in Channapattna, claimed that the government’s request was made very late, which he refuted.
“We have not sought a single rupee to implement state government’s guarantee schemes; we are funding them from our own resources. We have sought the grant to tackle the drought, but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claims that we are seeking funds to implement guarantee schemes, which is not true. We don’t need central assistance to fund our schemes,” he said.
Siddaramaiah claimed that despite non-cooperation from the central government, his state government has managed the drought situation effectively. Initial compensation of Rs 2,000 crores has been provided to distressed farmers, benefitting around 34 lakh farmers, to help them avoid migration and arrange fodder and other necessities.
The state government has sought Rs 18,172 crore as relief from the NDRF seven months ago, but the union government has yet to release the relief grant. “We met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on December 20, 2023, who promised to convene a meeting on December 23 and resolve the issue, but they have not done so. They have no moral right to visit the state,” Siddaramaiah declared.
The CM criticized the union government for announcing the nationalization of the Upper Bhadra Project in its budget but failing to take any action. “We had sought Rs 5,495 crore special grant under the 15th Finance Commission, Rs 3,000 crore for the peripheral ring road, and Rs 3,000 crore for the development of Bengaluru, but the state received nothing. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are responsible for this,” he charged.
“Modi remembers Kannadigas or Karnataka only during the election season; he did not visit the state when it was reeling under severe floods when BS Yediyurappa was chief minister, nor during the severe drought the state is facing,” Siddaramaiah asserted.
“If the Home Minister wants to campaign in the state, his government should disburse Rs 18,171 crores immediately to the state. If not, they have no right to seek the votes of Kannadigas,” he added.
Siddaramaiah explained that they were forced to approach the Supreme Court as they were not receiving funds from the central government. “It was the state government which presented its case with facts and figures, and the Supreme Court agreed. If we had not approached the court, we would not have received a single rupee from the central government,” he concluded.
