Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 1 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka hit out at the Congress government over the issue of drought relief, accusing the state administration of trying to wash its hands of the matter by providing a paltry compensation of just ₹2,500 to farmers.
Speaking at a press conference, Ashoka accused the Siddaramaiah–D.K. Shivakumar Congress government of pushing the state into crisis.
The Karnataka Leader of Opposition alleged that farmers have been driven to the brink of death due to drought.
He stated that drinking-water scarcity has begun in the Cauvery catchment area; as a result, there is no water for cattle, load-shedding is being imposed at will, thus putting pressure on the treasury. He added that all these issues were raised in the special discussion during the four-day session.
R Ashoka also claimed that a demand for a minimum of ₹25,000 per acre as relief was not met. Instead, the government announced ₹2,500 each for 50 lakh families, describing the compensation as an insult to farmers.
The Karnataka LoP further accused the Congress of not taking the opposition into confidence regarding writing to the Centre on the drought situation.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government gives farmers alms, thousands of crores are being spent on guarantee committees and ₹1,110 crore is being given to Bharat Jodo committees.
He stated that thousands of crores are being spent on Congress party people and opening gruel centres, while farmers are being given spare change.
Referring to a communication from Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar asking the opposition to go as a delegation to the Centre, Ashoka emphasised they are ready to go to the Centre, but karnataka government has not fulfilled their demands at all and has not even released funds for drinking water.
He asserted that if an all-party delegation was to visit the Centre, the government should have discussed the situation of drought with them, accusing the Congress government of taking a unilateral decision and playing politics over the issue.
Highlighting state debt figures, Ashoka claimed that former CM Siddaramaiah alone borrowed ₹4,36,803 crore.
He detailed that J.H. Patel borrowed ₹5,664 crore; B.S. Yediyurappa across his entire tenure borrowed ₹1,63,713 crore; H.D. Kumaraswamy borrowed ₹1,01,419 crore; Basavaraj Bommai borrowed ₹67,000 crore; D.V. Sadananda Gowda borrowed ₹24,525 crore; S.M. Krishna borrowed ₹20,576 crore; and Dharam Singh borrowed ₹16,974 crore.
Presenting a breakdown of state borrowings, Ashoka claimed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alone accounts for 52.33 per cent of total debt incurred across all Chief Ministerial tenures. He noted that out of the state’s total outstanding debt of ₹8,34,677 crore, Congress regimes accounted for ₹5,66,970 crore, whereas BJP tenures accounted for ₹2,62,000 crore and the JD(S) tenure accounted for ₹5,664 crore.
Later, speaking on the NICE Project, R Ashoka claimed that CM D.K. Shivakumar has joined hands with NICE, alleging that the project did not invest even one rupee in the state. (ANI)
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