Lobby with Centre for drought relief, Shivakumar tells BJP, JD(S)

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday called upon the BJP and JD(S) to prevail upon the Union government to release compensation to Karnataka on account of the drought.

He reasoned that since the BJP was ruling at the Centre and JD(S) were their allies, they were wellplaced to lobby for the state getting relief that was due to it.

The State government has declared that 216 out of 236 taluks in Karnataka are drought-hit. A total crop loss of Rs 33,710 crore has been estimated, and compensation of Rs 17,901 crore has been requested from the Centre under National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF).

A team from the Centre had visited the state in the past month but no relief has been forthcoming as of yet.

“More than 200 taluks of the state are affected by drought. Let the BJP and JD(S) leaders show their commitment by putting pressure on the Centre to release the drought compensation and increase the days of employment under NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act),” Shivakumar said.

“The Central government is discriminating against the state on the issue of drought,” he added.

Echoing the sentiments of Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress chief, party spokesperson Laxman said that the BJP had been directing political attacks on the State government, which were devoid of facts.

“Are the 26 (BJP) MLAs who were elected from the state missing? Or has the BJP sent them to other countries?” he asked.