Siddu to CM: Stop yatra ‘drama’, visit flood-hit

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Hitting out at the BJP government i n the state for turning a blind eye to the travails of the flood-hit, Opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah told Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that his ‘honeymoon period’ is over. ‘’Your ministers should stop the yatra drama and send them to rain-hit areas to mitigate the problems of victims”, he said.

This statement from Siddaramaiah comes in the wake of accusations that the CM and his cabinet have been lax in responding to the woes of the rain affected and are instead busy in the campaign for the Legislative Council polls.

He said over half of the state has been ravaged by unseasonal rains and the crops ready for harvesting are damaged. The minsters are instead busy visiting districts as part of their yatra for the MLC polls. ‘’What the BJP is doing is not ‘Janswaraj’ but ‘Janbarbadh’ yatra. Over 20 persons were killed in rain-related incidents, crops on around 10,000 hectares of land have been damaged and hundreds of houses have collapsed partially or fully. There is no one to listen to the woes of farmers. While the ministers are on yatra, officers are sitting at home. Can anyone call this a responsible government?,’’ he asked.

The former CM said firstly, the ministers must take the officers with them to rain affected areas to assess the damage and release relief amounts immediately. Temporary shelters must be opened to provide shelter and food till the rain water recedes. Secondly, the government must present a detailed memorandum to the Union government on the rain damage, he added.