Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, and other party leaders led a demonstration at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue in Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru, protesting against the central government’s alleged inadequate allocation of funds for drought relief.
Holding a water pot, called 'Chombu', symbolising emptiness and deception, the leaders charged the Centre with "cheating" Karnataka slogans and placards, they alleged that by not releasing adequate relief to face acute drought the BJP-led centre has cheated on the state and the taxpayers of the state.
Karnataka has not witnessed such a drought situation in the past several decades. Siddaramaiah government has declared 226 out of the total 236 Taluks in the state as drought-hit and said there was a crop loss in 48 lakh hectares of land.
The protests follows Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s announcement on Saturday regarding the Congress’s discontent over the Centre’s allocation of Rs 3,454 crore against Karnataka’s demand for Rs 18,172 crore to address drought conditions.
Shivakumar, also serving as the Congress state president, criticised the allocation, stating, “The union government has announced a very paltry sum of relief, which will be grossly insufficient to provide drought relief to farmers.”
“In this regard, we have decided to stage a protest near the Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha. We will also continue our legal battle for more drought relief. We are not seeking alms, this is our right,” he continued.
Emphasising the disparity between the state’s demand and the Centre’s allocation, Shivakumar said that despite seeking only 50 per cent of the estimated loss of Rs 35,000 crore the Centre agreed to release only a fraction of that amount.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address four rallies, in the North Karnataka region today, aiming to solidify support for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the third phase of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024. The Prime Minister’s itinerary rallies in Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Davangere, and Ballari.
READ | 'Ye Har Ghar Mein Chapa Maarenge': PM Modi Continues 'Scan' Jab At Congress In Karnataka's Belagavi